Construction and engineering need to work together for MMC to thrive | New Civil Engineer
Moving to Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) isn’t just about reducing the labour requirements needed to meet UK house building targets, it’s about reskilling existing workforces to ease pressures and bringing brand new skills to the sector. One of the key challenges is that young people aren’t inspired to start a career in the sector; with construction having dropped out of the top 10 career choices for people aged 22-29 in 2018 and continuing to decline rapidly.
The lack of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the workforce is also proving a big problem, with few females entering the sector. Construction is not progressing EDI on par with other industrial or traditionally male dominated sectors, with recent UK Government reports showing just 13% of the current construction workforce are female (in comparison to around 20% across energy, mining, and transport). The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) hopes that by introducing formal metrics for EDI across the industry, it’ll support businesses to be more transparent and targeted in its efforts to drive real change and attract new talent.
With skills shortages prevalent across many other sectors, it is not enough to depend on the government to implement change; the industry needs to collaborate end to end, from encouraging children to have aspirations in school, to ensuring the delivery of qualifications aligned to employers’ requirements.
The lack of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the workforce is also proving a big problem, with few females entering the sector. Construction is not progressing EDI on par with other industrial or traditionally male dominated sectors, with recent UK Government reports showing just 13% of the current construction workforce are female (in comparison to around 20% across energy, mining, and transport). The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) hopes that by introducing formal metrics for EDI across the industry, it’ll support businesses to be more transparent and targeted in its efforts to drive real change and attract new talent.
With skills shortages prevalent across many other sectors, it is not enough to depend on the government to implement change; the industry needs to collaborate end to end, from encouraging children to have aspirations in school, to ensuring the delivery of qualifications aligned to employers’ requirements.
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