Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) predicts growth

Over 150,000 construction jobs are set to be created over the next five years despite Brexit uncertainty and Carillion’s collapse, a new forecast from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) reveals.

• Infrastructure and housing best performing sectors
• Carpenters, process managers and professional staff all in demand
• Commercial sector could be hit by Brexit nervousness

A massive 15,350 carpenters and 9,350 labourers will be needed as homebuilding ramps up, according to this year’s Construction Skills Network report, the UK’s most comprehensive and up-to-date sector forecast.

However, the strongest job growth will be in a range of professional and managerial roles as the industry seeks to boost its productivity, which will grow by 7.8% and 5.6% over the next five years.

The CSN forecasts average output growth of 1.3%, with 158,000 jobs created. Infrastructure remains the strongest performer with an annual growth of 3.1%. However, housing output, both public and private, is also expected to expand, by 2.8% and 2.2%, respectively. In contrast, the commercial sector is not predicted to grow at all over the next five years, as investors potentially hold back decisions due to Brexit uncertainty.

CSN figures show employment is projected to grow for the fourth consecutive year at 0.5% a year on average to 2022. This would take employment in the industry to 2.77 million in 2022, only 3% below the 2008 peak.

Download the Construction Skills Network UK report for 2018 – 2022 (PDF 1.69 MB)