Barratt Developments launches campaign to overcome sector skills shortage
29 July 2017: With the Government recently announcing a £5bn boost to help galvanise the
housebuilding industry1, but firms still struggling to find the skilled workers they need to meet
the nation’s housebuilding targets, one of the region’s largest housebuilders is launching a
new campaign to encourage more people into the sector. Barratt Developments Yorkshire
East, which encompasses the Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes brands and is
currently developing The Chocolate Works in York amongst other developments, is
launching the Constructing Futures campaign this month, in an aim to bridge the skills gap
and encourage more people to consider working in the housebuilding industry.
An estimated 230,000 construction jobs are set to be created throughout the UK in the next
five years2, but the industry is struggling to keep up with the pace of change - something
which Barratt Developments believes is holding back housebuilders across the country from
meeting the Government’s ambitious housebuilding targets. As well as the need for young
people to join the sector and train in skilled roles, Barratt Developments believes that
existing construction firms in the industry need to consider taking on more business from
housebuilders and to reap the benefits of being a subcontractor in the industry.
To address this ever growing problem, Barratt Developments is calling on firms across the
region to join them at their Constructing Futures events, which will see the housebuilder
addressing common concerns about working in the industry and offering firms practical
advice on how to get their foot in the door and managing their subcontractor business.
Barratt Developments will also be working with schools and colleges in the region to deliver
talks and practical workshops to showcase the career opportunities available in the sector –
from practical trades to technical and sales based roles.
Steve Mattinson, Construction Director at Barratt Developments Yorkshire East, commented:
“It’s fantastic that the Government has ambitious aims to boost housebuilding, but the simple
1
http://news.sky.com/story/government-assigns-1635bn-to-build-25000-new-homes10603966
2 http://www.citb.co.uk/documents/research/csn%202016-2020/csn_national_2016.pdf
fact is that the UK will never have the number of homes it needs if we don’t have the skilled
people required to build them. It isn’t just about encouraging more students to train as
bricklayers, even though this is a worthy aim. Children leaving school and college are
unaware of the opportunities available to them, but existing construction firms also don’t
realise the sheer potential open to them in the housebuilding industry. What we want to say
to these firms is that the Government plans to build 25,000 new homes by 20203 and as a
result businesses across the county have a unique opportunity to take advantage of this
supported growth.”
He continued: “We know that some firms might have reservations about investing and
getting involved, so as part of the Constructing Futures campaign we are aiming to dispel
some of these myths and to showcase the fantastic opportunities available to hard working
people who want to work in the housebuilding sector. In partnership with this, we will also be
teaming up with schools and colleges across Yorkshire to educate youngsters on the wealth
of career opportunities available within the construction industry, to ensure we have enough
skilled people to build the homes of the future.”
Barratt Developments will be launching the Constructing Futures events in 2016.
- ENDS -
For further information about Barratt Yorkshire East please contact Ella Sykes or Erin Jones
on 0113 2429 174 or email: [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
1) Barratt Developments PLC is a FTSE100 company.
2) Barratt Group sold 17,300 homes in the year to June 2016, making it the biggest housebuilder by
volume in Britain.
3) Barratt Group was awarded a maximum five star rating for the seventh consecutive year in the
2016 Home Builders Federation Customer Satisfaction Survey.
4) Site managers working for Barratt Group won 79 awards for quality workmanship in the 2016
NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Barratt has won more Pride in the Job awards than any other
housebuilder for the last twelve years.
3
http://news.sky.com/story/government-assigns-1635bn-to-build-25000-new-homes10603966