Skills shortage 'will harm construction industry'

A "severe" lack of skills will have an impact on the UK's construction sector in the coming years, according to one expert.

Mark Farrar, chief executive of the Construction Skills Network (CSN), pointed out that the recession has hit the industry "extremely hard" and many firms will struggle to recover.

His comments follow the publication of a report by the CSN which showed that 375,000 jobs will have been lost in the industry by 2011, with only about 100,000 of those roles set to be recouped by 2014.

"This situation remains fragile and we are concerned that, given the scale of the public sector deficit, potential funding cuts in the period ahead will further exacerbate the loss of skills before private sector investment has fully recovered," Mr Farrar explained.

The expert's comments come after John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, recently said that the rise in the number of work placements in the UK is mainly due to an increase in part-time roles.

Posted by Chris Hatch