Re your editorial (The Guardian view on construction workers: the country needs more of them, fast, 13 August), as a bricklayer with decades of experience, I see the skills shortage in the construction industry as the result of years of neglect. The problem is not only attracting new people, but keeping them in the trade once they see the reality of working conditions.
Most site bricklayers are self-employed subcontractors. We don’t get pensions, holiday pay, or sick pay. If you’re ill or injured, you simply don’t earn. That insecurity pushes many skilled people out of construction entirely.
On top of that, wages have barely moved in years – in fact, the rates many bricklayers receive today are lower than four years ago. Large housebuilders often pay good rates to main contractors, but by the time it filters down to the bricklayer, they can end up with far less.
If the UK is serious about meeting its housing targets, we need more than training schemes. We need to make construction a job you can build a life on – fair pay directly to the tradespeople, proper benefits, and conditions that match the skill and physical demands of the work.
Until that changes, we’ll keep losing good people faster than we can train them, no matter how much money is thrown at recruitment.
Matthew Ord
Peterlee, County Durham
Large construction firms routinely depend on multiple levels of subcontracting, involving an ecosystem of small and medium-sized enterprises that source labour through a myriad of different routes. Those who do the work are often unsure of their own employment status. People working alongside each other frequently have very different terms and conditions, or indeed, no written terms and conditions at all. Career paths do exist, but only in sheltered pockets.
The fractured nature of the employment model brings obvious advantages to “employers” in terms of low overheads. But training is invariably seen as someone else’s problem. Many small firms would much prefer to invest in direct employment and apprenticeships, but such investment isn’t feasible given the competitive dynamics of the marketplace. This is the end point of the industry’s 40-year quest for modernisation. Simple solutions are few and far between. But the first step for policymakers is to recognise the highly fissured nature of the construction employment context.
Stuart Green
Professor of construction management, University of Reading
There are plenty of decent tradespeople out there and, of course, some not so good. Yes, we need to bring in more for the future, and I’ve no problem with them having formal qualifications. But that doesn’t make a tradesperson.
I got my City & Guilds in carpentry in 1997. As I understand it, once my Construction Skills Certificate Scheme card runs out, it won’t be renewed unless I make a significant spend to get an NVQ. I’ve been in the trade for over 30 years, and I’ve diverged my skill base significantly past carpentry alone, all learned on the job.
Currently, I have no problem getting work, as I’m fairly adept at most building trades. A rush to have only the formally qualified working on site will be counterproductive. As a self-employed tradesperson, if my work isn’t to standard, I cannot work. I’m 51, still fit. If Labour is going to achieve its goals, people like me are vital.
Mark Stringer
King’s Lynn, Norfolk