KPMG Report on Jobs highlights construction skills shortage

Demand for both permanent and temporary employees increased in July.

The latest Report on Jobs published by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has shown a strong rise in construction job vacancies at the start of the third quarter.

Unique in providing the most comprehensive guide to the UK labour market, the Report on Jobs draws on original survey data provided by recruitment consultancies and employers to provide the first indication each month of labour market trends.

The index for July 2015 for permanent staff showed that construction employees were the second-most sought-after permanent staff members in the industry, up from 58.6 in June.

This figure is indicative of a strong rate of expansion that is well above the national average of 63.2.

Only engineering fared better than construction in terms of demand for permanent staff in July and even then, that is only marginal.

Meanwhile, the demand for temporary/contract staff was highest for construction employees above any other sector.

In this respect, the index is 69.6, which again represents a huge increase from June, which was 61.0.

It represents a marked acceleration and is well above the national average for contract/temporary employees which is 62.2.

Engineering also performed well in the field of temporary/contract staff, with the index at 65.1 – the third most sought-after employees.

Richard Threlfall is the Head of Infrastructure, Building and Construction at KPMG, and stressed that this demand, which is indicative of a skills shortage, could have major implications for major projects in Britain.

He said: “It is clear we are in the grip of an industry-wide skills shortage, which shows no signs of abating. Businesses are struggling to find the talent they need and this will have long term implications for their growth plans and potentially impact the wider performance of the UK’s economy.

“In July, over two fifths of recruiters reported a fall in the number of people looking for work, the steepest decline seen in eight months.

“The construction industry in particular is struggling to keep pace with demand, with businesses heavily recruiting both permanent and temporary workers. This is driving significant pay growth in the sector of almost 5%, even outstripping Britain’s surging services industry which in comparison saw pay increases of just over 3%.

“The risk is that a shortage of skilled labour in this sector could impede Britain’s major building projects and put the brakes on the country’s booming real estate market.

“The likelihood is we will see no immediate improvement to this situation. We are already seeing hints of a summer slowdown, as both businesses and candidates put their job plans on hold and take holiday over August.”

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