Fifty-six percent of young adults in the UK are considering construction an ‘attractive’ profession with plenty of prospects, a survey has found.
NBS surveyed 2,000 adults, aged between 18–29, across the UK regarding construction as a potential vocation just as job vacancies hit an all-time high of 49,000 earlier this year.
Women in the sector
The poll also found that 57% of women stated that they consider construction to be a generally ‘diverse’ industry.
Now over a fifth of women are ‘very interested’ in construction as a career, showing scope for an influx of female employees following A-level and university results day.
However, a similar number are being actively dissuaded by peers and family to take a job in the industry, showing that whilst personal attitudes are changing, sector misconceptions persist.
Most sought-after jobs
‘Engineer’, particularly in structural and civils roles, ranked number two when it came to the list of most sought-after jobs, second only to ‘Healthcare Professional’ in popularity.
Drilling down, 8% were specifically interested an architectural career, potentially indicating why so many young people appear interested in making their mark in construction.
Almost a third stated a passion for architecture and a similar number wanted to ‘create a better physical’ world.
What’s more, for joining the sector, ‘Good pay’ ranked top of the incentive list, followed by a good home and work balance, a respectful working environment, interesting work and working with nice people.
An evolving industry
Over a third flagged they were interested in construction because they see it as an industry ‘going through a massive, positive change’.
Elsewhere, respondents noticed the innovation happening in the industry, with three quarters of respondents recognising that ‘a lot’ or a ‘fair amount’ of technology is used in contemporary construction.
Train drain
However, another recent study by the Association of Colleges found that 85% of further education colleges have struggled to secure staff to teach the relevant subjects.
Russell Haworth, CEO of NBS, said: “It’s clear that perceptions around construction are changing. Young people now realise it’s not the dull, dangerous, and dirty job as mislabelled for years by educators and career advisors.
“It’s great to see such an uptick in interest following some very lean years recruitment-wise. The challenge for the sector now is to jump on this opportunity, we must not miss it as has previously been the case.”
Mirudhula Ponraj, technical trainee assistant at Bellway Homes, said: “It’s interesting to hear that more women are interested in construction. Great strides are being made in terms of inclusion, but we know more work still needs to be done for the sector to represent 21st century Britain. With schemes such as Women into Construction, I’m optimistic that we’ll see more change in the next ten years.
“There’s a misconception that construction is all about muddy boots and strong shoulders, today’s industry is so much more. I studied Building Information Modelling at uni. The fifth of women mentioned in NBS’ study looking to enter the industry might be surprised to learn that roles can be incredibly diverse.
“The next generation now have the opportunity to work with technical programmes and computer systems, utilising brains over brawn.”
>>Read more about young people in the industry here.
