Skills East Sussex:Construction briefing

March 2015

Defining the sectorFor the purpose of this exercise we have used the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) for construction.

The sector includes:

•general construction (the construction of entire dwellings, office buildings, stores and other public and utility buildings, farm buildings etc)•specialised construction activities for buildings (new work, repair, additions and alterations, the erection of prefabricated buildings or structures)•and civil engineering works (motorways, streets, bridges, tunnels, railways, airfields, harbours and other water projects, irrigation systems, sewerage systems, industrial facilities, pipelines and electric lines, sports facilities etc)

We also used a range of Standard Occupational Classifications for the construction sector.

National Context• Construction industry employs 2 million people in

the UK. • Male and white-British dominated industry. • Comprised of both manual (49%) and non-manual

(51%) occupations.• High levels of self-employment (4 in 10),

predominantly in manual occupations.• Managerial roles constitute 25% of the total roles.

Impact of the recession

Qualifications•Employer preference for apprenticeships as entry route to the industry, however apprenticeship starts have declined since beginning of the recession (50% reduction since the peak of 2006/07). Other routes to qualification (e.g. degrees) have shown similar decline. •Larger employers have more managerial staff with high-level qualifications and are more likely to provide training to their current managerial staff.

Broader skills issues

•A prevalent gap in the skills relating to green and sustainable construction practices.

•However, in the current economic context, skills deficiencies that take precedence with employers relate to the generation of new business strategy and leads.

Looking ahead

•Training for new entrants can be improved via: introduction of flexible ‘bolt-on’ modules for apprenticeships and S/NVQs; years in industry for degree courses in construction and engineering.

•New and existing workforce could benefit from modular and virtual learning to reduce time and financial implications of delivering training.

•Upturn in the prosperity of the sector will bring a renewed focus on the ‘green’ agenda and opportunities for growth in the renewables, retrofit and other innovative technologies will bring about new training needs.

Skills to Build Report – London Chamber of Commerce & KPMG (Nov 2014) – covers London and South East

Skills to Build Report, London Chamber of Commerce & KPMG (Nov 2014), London & South East

Regional picture

Construction in East Sussex

Male: Female

Number of jobs:

10,400 Growth to 2020: 22%

Total value GVA:

£651m Growth to 2020: 37%3

Number of businesses

2,890

Percentage self-employed:

Businesses by size:

Construction in East Sussex

A skills snapshotLocal qualification profile of workforce:

Local delivery of qualifications: