Latest news: Construction industry’s future employees

The construction industry’s future employees are highly ambitious, clued-up and are keen to quickly climb the career ladder, according to the findings of a CITB-ConstructionSkills survey hosted on its youth website ‘bconstructive’. 15/12/2011

Those born after 1985, nicknamed ‘Generation Thumb’ because of their renowned enthusiasm for texting and gaming, cited ‘the opportunity to become your own boss’ as the most appealing factor about working in construction. This was followed closely by the variety offered by working on different projects and the opportunity to become a master craftsman in a specialist area. Surprisingly, the potential financial rewards were low down the priority listing for youngsters but the majority thought that earnings in construction were about the same (41%) or higher (35%) than other careers.

When choosing an organisation to work for, the respondents cited a company’s ‘commitment to training and development’ as the most important consideration. This was almost matched by the organisation’s ‘reputation as a fair employer’. However, a company’s size, location, reward package and its commitment to the green agenda were not rated highly in the pecking order.
 
‘Teamwork’ topped the poll as the aptitude, ability or skill the participants thought most useful to bring to the industry. Project management and organisational skills however, were not rated highly with most believing that technical ability, confidence and physical fitness were of more value to a prospective employer. The gaming generation also placed ‘hand to eye co-ordination skills/good motor skills’ higher in the skills stakes than people skills.

‘It’s clear from the survey that young people interested in construction are driven, ambitious and ready for tough challenges. This is exactly what construction needs - quality candidates who are keen to raise the bar and meet the future needs of an ever-changing industry,’ said Janette Welton-Pai, sector strategy manager for careers at CITB-ConstructionSkills.