Supervisory Skills Gaps Within the UK Construction Industry Acknowledgements

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Supervisory Skills Gaps Within the UK Construction Industry Acknowledgements Supervisory Skills Gaps within the UK Construction Industry Acknowledgements Researched and written by: Linzi Shearer, BCTG Construct Lead Researcher Douglas Morrison, City of Glasgow College, BCTG Construct Project Sponsor With significant contributions from: Sarah Beale, CITB Professor Billy Hare, BEAM Research Centre at Glasgow Caledonian University John Keenan, CITB Scotland John Logan, Sir Robert McAlpine Gary McDonnell, BCTG Chairperson Talat Yaqoob, Equate Scotland Special thanks to the members of the BCTG Construct Steering Group: Paul Allford, Gerry Doyle, Professor Billy Hare (BCTG Construct Chair), John Keenan, Jenny Kellie, Gordon MacKenzie, Ian MacNaughton, Gary McDonnell, Scott McGibbon, Aileen Nicholson, Andy Pollock, John Renwick, Jennifer Smart, Jan Stewart, Alastair Stupart, Douglas Thomson, Dr. Evi Viza, Jim Wilson, Sandra Wilson. Digital and Visual Design by: Kaylie Allan | www.kaylieallan.com This publication was funded through the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Flexible Fund and delivered through the Scottish Institute of Innovation and Knowledge Exchange. The contents of this publication and the opinions expressed are those of the Authors alone. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Questions and feedback can be sent to the Lead Author by emailing [email protected] or visiting: http://bctgconstruct.co.uk/get-involved/ Published February 2018 | BCTG Construct 2018 2 key findings Personal Qualities, such as communication and people management, feature as the top three most prevalent supervisory skills gaps, as ranked by Employers and Educators. Realised Impacts of supervisory skills gaps include: increased workloads for the wider construction team, higher operating costs, reduced productivity and profitability and difficulties meeting quality standards and introducing new working practices. Key Barriers to providing supervisors with quality training opportunities were ranked by employers as: time to attend, cost of provision and a lack of relevant accredited training. Effective Actions that could be taken to address supervisor skills gaps included: improving the relevance and quality of training activities and introducing mentoring/coaching schemes with improved on-site supervision. Priority Subject Areas where training interventions should be targeted included: Quality Assurance, Inspection & Testing, Project Management & Site Administration and Building Information Modelling. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 2 Key Findings ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. 4 Foreword ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1. The Evidence Base ......................................................................................................................... 8 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 UK Construction Industry ......................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Key Labour Market Challenges .............................................................................................. 16 1.4 Skills, Knowledge and Qualities ............................................................................................. 19 1.5 Training and Development ....................................................................................................... 23 1.6 Policy Landscape ......................................................................................................................... 27 2. Our Research ................................................................................................................................. 32 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 32 2.2 Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 33 2.3 Results and Discussion ............................................................................................................. 34 2.3.1 Respondent Characteristics ................................................................................................. 34 2.3.2 Perceived Skills Gaps ............................................................................................................. 36 2.3.3 Realised Impacts of Supervisory Skills Gaps ............................................................... 42 2.3.4 Barriers to Provision of Quality Training......................................................................... 44 2.3.5 Potential Actions to Address Skills Gaps........................................................................ 45 2.3.6 Priority Subject Areas ........................................................................................................... 48 3. Towards a Solution ....................................................................................................................... 50 3.1 Barriers to Employer Engagement with Training ............................................................ 50 3.2 New Models of Supervisory Education .............................................................................. 52 3.3 Key Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 54 4. References ....................................................................................................................................... 58 4 5 FOReWoRD CITB is always looking to the future. Our aim is to improve training and qualifications and promote construction careers in a rapidly changing sector. Every year the Levy CITB collects from construction employers is invested back into industry. Our most recent funding impact report showed that, between September 2015 and December 2016, nearly £18m of CITB’s Flexible and Structured funding was spent on over 300 projects in England, Scotland and Wales. At CITB we recognise that skills gaps, particularly at the supervisory level, pose a threat to the construction industry. They can lead to reduced efficiency and productivity, unnecessary waste and an increased risk of health and safety incidents. Many firms find it increasingly difficult to recruit or upskill staff to the standards required. One issue frequently raised by construction businesses is the importance of high standards of on- site supervision. Our work with the Building Contractor Training Group Construct (BCTG) is a good example of how CITB supports innovative solutions to the industry’s biggest challenges through our Flexible and Structured Funds. CITB’s investment in BCTG Construct will go some way to addressing the problem through a modern approach to upskilling at a supervisory level. I am confident that the project will support the delivery of our collective goals and help contribute to the longer-term prosperity of the industry. I wish the project every success. Sarah Beale, Chief Executive of CITB 6 Training and development play an important role in the effectiveness of organisations and to the experiences employees have in the workplace. Training has implications for productivity, health and safety and overall personal development and competency. It has been evident for some time that the skills gap has been widening in the construction industry, with many employers finding it increasingly difficult to either recruit or retain staff at varying levels. Supporting the needs of the workforce and providing learning and development opportunities provides greater knowledge, effective job planning and productivity – not to mention better service to clients and increased profit to organisations. The balance of work and learning can often prove challenging for both business and employees. It is therefore essential that the sector embraces new digital/ online learning platforms as a great source and solution to the barriers faced, as these provide flexibility and continued access to the individual at a low cost to the employer. As Chair of the Building Contractors Training Group I look forward to working with the consortium of partners involved in the BCTG Construct project to achieve the objectives set out – ensuring that the sector is are training and retaining the best supervisor workforce to deliver outstanding service and results to customers. Gary McDonnell, Chair of the Building Contractors Training Group 7 1. the evidence base 1.1 Introduction This publication explores perceptions of current and anticipated supervisory skills gaps within the UK construction industry. Part 1 provides an overview of the key challenges facing the sector, while Part 2 reports on new research relating to employer and educator perspectives of the skills gaps and the identification of effective and targeted training opportunities. The current system is
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