The construction industry will require the equivalent of 350,000 new roles to be created by 2028 for the UK to achieve its 2050 Net Zero emissions goals, according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The CITB’s Building Skills for Net Zero published on 15 March, 2021, found that the 350,000 new roles will need to be found through a mix of new skilled jobs, increased efficiencies in existing roles, and innovation in how the industry can decarbonise the built environment.
UK construction contributes approximately 40% of the UK’s emissions according to the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC), and reducing this to Net Zero presents a huge challenge. Yet the move to cleaner, greener construction presents big opportunities to make the industry more attractive to new recruits and upskill the existing workforce.
However, across the UK, 80% of buildings to be used in 2050 have already been built and these could represent 95% of future built environment emissions. Reducing emissions to Net Zero will require retrofit work on up to 27 million domestic and 2 million non-domestic buildings.
CITB has modelled the skills profile of the workforce needed to deliver Net Zero using data from the Climate Change Committee (CCC). This shows that by 2028, additional decarbonisation work will have created the demand for 86,000 construction project managers, 33,000 building envelope specialists and 59,000 plumbers and HVAC specialists.
A career destination of choice
This opportunity comes alongside the COVID-19 pandemic and an expected rise in unemployed workers coming from other sectors, providing a perfect time for construction to position itself as a career destination of choice for people who want to make a difference.
CITB’s research shows that reducing built environment emissions to Net Zero can be achieved if there is an industry-wide investment in skills, far-reaching skills policy reform and an unprecedented recruitment drive.
The report was published to compliment the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Skills Plan, which sets out industry action to modernise and decarbonise skills, and CO2nstructZero, a collaborative industry change programme to deliver Net Zero.
Steve Radley, CITB strategy and policy director, said: “Net Zero presents a huge challenge for construction but an even greater opportunity to create a more productive industry that’s also a more attractive career option.
“We can get there by being clear on the key skills we’ll need, making sure we have the right courses and qualifications to deliver them and investing in them. Industry is already delivering what is needed, but it needs to happen at scale. The training sector must act now as employers’ needs will change fast. A joined-up approach to skills across the built environment is key.
“Government also has a key role in specifying what it wants and creating the pipeline of demand that will give industry the confidence to invest in the skills we need and for providers to invest in the courses we need to deliver these skills.”
Thoughts from the FMB…
The building industry will need thousands of new entrants, and strong leadership from the government if we are to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. That was the reaction from Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
“The report refers to ‘clearer signals’ from the government but given the failure of previous green initiatives over the last decade, there is an urgent need for the government to take action ahead of COP26 and commit to a long-term energy efficiency retrofit strategy, that is backed by public investment, to provide confidence to both builders and householders. Only then, will we create the demand for training and upskilling that is needed to bring in new entrants and unlock the workforce of the future,” Brian said.
“Small to medium-sized (SME) builders need to be at the heart of transforming our built environment if the net zero target is to achieved,” he concluded. “I therefore welcome the CITB’s commitment to utilising the Skills and Training Fund, aimed at SMEs, to support upskilling. The FMB is calling on the CITB to lift the cap on the Skills and Training Fund so that grant is provided according to need, and that builders are not held back from investing in their people.”
