29 July 2023
It used to be a source of economic joy when we heard the unemployment figure was low – in fact, for many years, it was almost the only barometer used by some in the media for judging the health of the economy.
Low unemployment meant the economy was strong, and vice versa.
Now, life is not quite so simple. Unemployment has been, relatively speaking, very low for some considerable time and as we all know that is not reflected in economic growth which has been broadly flat.
At D-Drill, we have branches across the country and while we are always able to respond to client demands, we would still like to bring in more staff as we are looking to grow even further. And we’re not uncommon in the construction industry because this is something we talk about regularly within the sector.
Earlier this year, figures emerged that another 225,000 workers will be needed in the sector by 2027 which, without stating the obvious, is a lot of people in a very short space of time. One of the issues is the average age of workers is going up and, at a time when lots of people have decided to retire early following the Covid-pandemic, it means key staff can drop out of the industry with very little warning.
That has far reaching consequences as they not only have the skills to deliver for customers, they are also key to training the next generation.
When it comes to apprentices, D-Drill continues to lead by example with almost three-quarters of our workforce having come through the apprenticeship programme.
Pre-Covid and pre-Brexit, I was very much of the mindset that if we trained up apprentices and they went onto work for a bigger business then at least we had done our bit for the industry. If I’m completely honest, I’m a little more selfish now because I know our growth hinges on bringing in people, training them and keeping them.
What’s important for D-Drill and for the wider industry is to sell the benefits of being in this sector.
From our point of view, having a national branch network means members of our team don’t have to stay away from home overnight or at weekends because jobs are normally conveniently located within close proximity of one our offices.
We also have to remember that we are delivering an amazing, skilled service that is of vital importance for the economy and for society. Construction, for me, remains the beating heart of the UK economy so I’m proud of what we deliver and achieve and it’s important that our workforce feels that way too.
There’s a great deal of focus on wellbeing too and making sure that we keep pace in this area for the good of our workforce. We know people want good, well-paid jobs but all of the evidence points towards this being only one factor in what keeps employees happy. When there is so much competition for staff, we have to do everything we can to make sure everyone is happy, motivated and ready to deliver the best possible service to our customers.
And, when it comes to recruitment, the whole industry needs to innovate and look at ways of getting more young people into construction, to get former service people into the sector and attract people back who have previously left. This, for me, is one of the biggest challenges facing our sector and it is only by solving this that we can truly grow the industry and, in turn, the whole economy.
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