Recovery on the horizon for construction
CITB-ConstructionSkills NI Chief Executive Barry Neilson outlines its expectations for the industry over the next five years.
The economic downturn has been tough for all industries, particularly construction. Over the last three years, we have concentrated our efforts in supporting the industry survive the economic downturn.
We worked with the sector to improve their capabilities in strategic planning and performance improvement at senior management level while working to develop a qualified workforce at craft level.
As an Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council, our vision is to have a construction industry where skills and competence are at the core of every business plan and a training culture where skills are at the heart of each construction company, no matter how large or small, and to continue to improve the productivity of the Northern Ireland construction industry.
After a difficult five years, the economy in Northern Ireland is levelling out and we are looking forward to the future with a confident and more capable workforce able to embrace the opportunities arising as our industry regenerates.
Private housing, infrastructure and industrial work are all expected to help push the sector towards growth and around 1,280 new construction workers will be needed yearly over the next five years in Northern Ireland, according to the Construction Skills Network (CSN) report, published by ConstructionSkills.
Over the next five years, performance across the Northern Ireland construction industry is expected to show overall annual average output growth of 2.3 per cent with new work expected to fare better than the repair and maintenance sector. However, Northern Ireland has suffered one of the severest falls in output in recent years, so activity will be rising from a low base.
The industrial sector is expected to see annual average growth of 4 per cent. The private housing sector is expected to be the second strongest at an 3.9 per cent annual average, thanks to stabilising house prices, improving economic conditions, easing of credit restrictions and improving confidence. Infrastructure growth will be in the region of 2.7 per cent a year on average, driven in particular by roads projects such as upgrades to the A2, A5 and A6.
Construction employment will start rising again from 2014, with an annual average employment growth rate of 1.1 per cent predicted. The annual recruitment requirement of 1,280 will include demand for bricklayers, plasterers, painters and decorators, construction managers and professionals and technical staff.
CITB-ConstructionSkills NI is calling for sustained investment in longer term infrastructure and industrial projects to secure future growth. Clarity and certainty of future projects is an important element of a sustained recovery. It gives employers the confidence to train and to plan.
The CSN report shows that the economy is turning the corner and the Northern Ireland construction industry will benefit from that but growth needs to be sustainable, underpinned by long-term infrastructure projects and continued investment. The assurance that major infrastructure projects in the pipeline go ahead as planned would be most welcome and measures must be taken now to ensure growth is sustained over the long term.
It is essential that CITB-ConstructionSkills NI continues to support the industry in developing the highly skilled workers that it needs to meet the immediate challenges and to prepare for the future. We have been working with key industry partners to ensure we maintain a skilled and qualified workforce that is ready to take advantage of potential new investment opportunities. We have also addressed skills development in areas such as heritage and sustainable construction methods in order to assist with openings that may arise in these sectors.
We are looking to the future with confidence. Since the start of the recession, construction has lost significant numbers of skilled workers and we will continue to work closely with the industry to ensure it has the right skills and qualifications needed to deliver forecasted output.
For more information on CITB-ConstructionSkills NI and the CSN, visit www.citbcsni.org.uk
Keep up to date on all the latest news from CITB-ConstructionSkills NI by liking us on facebook (www.facebook.com/CITBConstructionSkillsNI) and following us on twitter @CITBNI
