A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a
Graham Construction has secured a nuclear contract extension as the LOW Level Waste Repository (LLWR) has signed the second half of its major four year framework deal. LLWR operates the nuclear waste site at Drigg, West Cumbria, which takes low level radioactive waste from the nuclear sector, hospitals and industry.
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of
A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a fall of 2.5% in comparison with the CSN report in January. As a result, the CITB has revised down the number of workers needed in the sector by 2020 from 232,000 to 157,000. Steve Radley, CITB Director of Policy, said the figures reflected the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote. Radley commented: “Delays and uncertainty over investment decisions and access to migrant labour will likely intensify as Brexit nears. “While employers’ main focus in the short term will be to weather the storm, it’s also important that they equip their workforce with the right skills for the challenges ahead.” Average growth rates throughout the UK have stayed varied, with areas such as the South West (2.8%) and North West (2.2%) showing a positive growth over the next five years. However, the East Midlands (0.2%), the North East (0.1%) and Scotland (0.6%) are all expected to contract. London experiences the largest shift, where growth for the next five years has gone down by two percentage points to 1.5%, which was down from 3.5% in January. As a consequence just 25,350 new workers will be needed each year in England, in comparison with 34,950 in January. Meanwhile, Wales will need 3,540 workers (down from 5,440), Scotland will need 1,810 (down from 4,270) and Northern Ireland will need 650 (down from 1,760). The CITB said infrastructure projects such Hinkley Point C have boosted its growth forecast. However, the body added that the infrastructure was still likely to contract further than previously anticipated because of pauses in road building and a weak performance in the electricity sub sector.
Graham Construction has secured a nuclear contract extension as the LOW Level Waste Repository (LLWR) has signed the second half of its major four year framework deal. LLWR operates the nuclear waste site at Drigg, West Cumbria, which takes low level radioactive waste from the nuclear sector, hospitals and industry. The contract was split into two parts, with LLWR having the option to carry on with the second half of the contract based on performance. Graham Construction, a family owned firm, was awarded the engineering, design and construction framework two years ago. Since then the two organisations have formed an integrated team to work on schemes such as site infrastructure improvements, repository development and security enhancement. LLWR’s Head of Site, Paul Pointon, commented: “The signing of this contract extension is a measure of the confidence we have in Graham Construction to continue to carry out extensive works on our site over the next two years. “The single team approach is working well and producing results and I want to thank all involved for their efforts. We expect the relationship between the two organisations to flourish over the next two years, building on the experience gained in the past two years.” Graham Construction is based in Northern Ireland and has worked hard to integrate into the community of West Cumbria. Earlier in the year, Graham Construction had 44 employees working on the framework, of which 32 were local. More than 80 people were also supported through sub-contracting, of which 90% were small and medium sized businesses. With support from LLWR, the company has also developed three science and engineering ambassadors to work in schools, supported Drigg Gala Day and visited many schools and colleges to talk about the benefits of engineering. Graham Construction’s Stuart Robertson, commented: “We are delighted that the relationship with LLWR is going from strength-to-strength. There is much to achieve over the next two years, but working closely with LLWR, I’m sure we will continue to produce results.”
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of monies into the sector could result in a post-Brexit growth of between 0.2% and 0.3%. A sharp deviation from the predicted 3.6% growth before the referendum. Figures from the CPA suggest that a majority of the industry activity in the interim are being sustained by the work on projects that were agreed on or started before the referendum. The construction forecast posits Construction output to rise 0.6% in 2016, 0.3% in 2017 and 0.2% in 2018 Offices construction to increase 8% in 2016 before falling 3% in 2017 and a further 10% in 2018 Factories construction to fall 5% in 2016 and 2% in 2017 Infrastructure work to rise by 6.2% in 2017 and 10.2% in 2018 Private housing starts to rise 2% but remain flat in 2017 and fall 2% in 2018 Retail construction to fall 8.0% in 2016 before falls of 4% in 2017 and 2% in 2018 This implies continued activity in the industry for the first half of next year. The second half though, does not bode well for privately funded construction sectors who are poised to suffer more from the uncertainty of the current times. Noble Francis, the economics director at the CPA predicts that industrial construction outputs could fall as much as 11% by 2018. This he argues is because large players in the industry would likely make fewer major investments as a result of the economic uncertainty that has gripped the industry. Reports indicate that it is vital that the Chancellor, for the upcoming autumn statement, focuses on reducing uncertainty for the private sector and ensure the delivery of projects that are already in the pipeline if the industry is to survive the times.
