EN:Able Futures Operations executive Mark Scott spoke out about the decline in young people choosing a career in construction in a live debate chaired by BBC DIY SOS presenter Mark Millar at Foundations Live on 10 October, the region’s biggest construction trade and careers event at Bishop Burton College in Hull.
Mark, who is also the president of the Yorkshire Builders Federation, commented that now is the time for action to address the skills shortage that the sector has complained about for the past 35 years. Mark said, “I’ve been in the construction industry for 35 years and for that long we have been complaining and complaining about the skills shortage. While we have been complaining, construction has fallen out of the top careers kids want to get in to. We should be ashamed. Construction needs to stop talking about shortages and start listening to clients and get better results for them.”
Richard Hunter, Managing Director at Hobson and Porter, one of the organisations behind the event, and also a contractor working with EN:Able Futures, said, “There are not the skills out there that there were even three years ago. We need to change the agenda in the industry and make people realise what a varied, rewarding career construction can be.”