McVey to school-leavers: ‘The UK construction industry needs you’

Industry trade groups have welcomed housing minister Esther McVey’s call for school-leavers to consider a career in the sector after thousands of youngsters received their GCSE results this week.

McVey, who recently threw her weight behind modern methods of construction, urged young people to think about a career building homes across the country.

She said 18-year-olds should “take a fresh look at a job building the homes of the future, with roles ranging from the traditional brickie to computer coders making 3D building models.

“If you want to master a trade, financial stability and opportunities across the country, you can’t go wrong with the construction sector.”

Sarah Beale, chief executive of the Construction Industry Training Board, said: “It’s fantastic to hear that the Housing Minister is calling for more young people to consider a career in construction.

“We have recently invested £10million as part of our Pathways into Construction programme. This together with existing activity, will provide work readiness opportunities to around 31,000 people with the aim to increase diversity and provide an inclusive pathway to employment in construction.

And Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said he applauded McVey’s comments for “shining a torch” on the construction industry and confirmed the sector was “open to all levels of skills, experience and education”.

“From drone operators and bricklayers to land buyers and human-resource managers, construction is the most inclusive career path out there and offer something for everyone.”

But the NFB boss also took a swipe at the government, saying it had failed to listen to industry warnings and advice which would have delivered thousands more construction apprentices and said ministers were “failing to listen to us again”.

He went on: “It’s too late to train new staff, or give experienced-but-new EU workers the skills to work in Britain. Therefore we must rethink the post-Brexit salary threshold, clarify self-employment rules and implement a construction sector visa, which will give assurances to workers who have already left, that they can come back.”

The NFB’s comments reflect a concern felt across the industry that recruiting staff from the EU after Brexit is going to be fraught with problems.

Approximately 8% of construction workers in the UK come from EU countries and the RICS has warned that up to 200,000 EU workers could leave the industry after Brexit, as salary thresholds and visa requirements kick in.

Construction companies fear that with the end of free movement and the need for new visas following the UK’s departure from the EU they will struggle to recruit lower-paid workers from mainland Europe.

The government has said people from overseas looking to come to the UK will need to earn £30,000 a year, ruling out many manual roles such as general labourers.

Bricklayers in the UK can earn £30,000 annually and painters and decorators £32,000, but trades such as scaffolders, window fitters and floor layers earn less, the NFB said.

McVey (pictured) said she was “determined to get Britain building the homes we need, and my message to school leavers is your country needs you to get Britain building again”.