The UK construction industry employs 2.17 million people (Construction Skills Network, 2022), which is insufficient to deliver the 2050 Net Zero strategy set by the UK government. We need to introduce an additional 440,000 jobs by 2030 to achieve this strategy.
Skills shortages have been a major topic between the ECIA and its members, and we have been working collaboratively across the sector to address them. One of our key priorities is to introduce a new workforce via the apprenticeship pathway. Apprentices, predominantly born between 1997 and 2013, are also addressed as Generation Z. They will be the workforce that delivers the Net Zero strategy and are a critical audience the industry must engage.
In our recent apprenticeship videos, you may have heard stories of apprentices joining the construction sector and the benefits they offer to the employer and the economy as a whole. We are all aware of these benefits, and the profound need to invest in developing a new generation of workforce and successfully attracting them via the appropriate communication channels is a paramount task.
Gen Z’s work-life balance approach differs from previous generations – they work to live, not live to work. They value flexibility and opportunities for growth rather than high salaries and benefits. They are also tech-savvy and have been surrounded by technology from birth, they find it challenging to work in an environment where they can’t access digital tools and social media. They are also more conscious of the environmental and green agenda, as around 70% of them are worried about global warming and its consequences. Any employer must support these values and needs to employ and retain a young person successfully.
Their career choice has many influences, with the key one being a parent. Research indicates that a parent’s input may influence a career choice by as much as 55-75%. The key problem here is that as many as 40% of parents would not consider encouraging their children towards a career in construction due to their perception of the industry (The National House Building Council, 2016).
There is a fundamental tension between parental expectations for their children’s careers of good pay, progression, and growth and Generation Z aspirations of work-life balance, technology enablement, and environmental impact. To overcome the skills challenges the industry faces, it is critical that this dichotomy is tackled via tailored communication to each target audience. This is an opportunity to redress the perception of the sector as an employer of choice that serves the needs of both parents and offspring.
Generation Z, the UK’s fourth largest population, is entering or will be entering employment within 5 years. As they make their choices, it is down to all of us in the industry to ensure they are well-informed and supported. We need to engage children from the start of secondary school and introduce them to the opportunities an engineering construction career has to offer. Youth outreach within educational establishments and local communities, social media filled with job profiling and success stories, spotlights on Net Zero projects in various media, encouragement to get involved in them and discussion with parents providing factual industry data. The skills shortage affecting the UK is fiercely competitive, so we must work collectively, as a sector to change perceptions and build a future for all of us.
