Construction National

Construction industry faces ‘retirement timebomb’

The construction industry is facing a ‘retirement timebomb’ as the number of 16- to 19-year-olds working in construction has more than halved in three years, according to research by CITB-ConstructionSkills.

The Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board said about one in six workers is due to retire within 10 years.
The number of older workers aged 55 years and over in the industry has increased by 65% since 1990, while those aged 24 and under has fallen by more than 40% over the same period.

Roger Stone, Sector Strategy Manager for CITB-ConstructionSkills South West said: “We are working hard to attract new blood into the industry because if we don’t act now this retirement timebomb could compromise our ability to benefit from the up-turn in the economy when it comes.
“In 1990, more than one in five (22%) of workers in the construction industry was aged 24 and under, but today, little more than one in ten of the sector’s workforce (12%) is within this age group.”
The trend has increased over the last twenty years and now affects professional trades, such as architects, surveyors and engineers as much as trade occupations.
Mr Stone added: “The risk is that the ageing workforce, coupled with a failure to train and attract sufficient people now, will result in a skills vacuum and manpower shortage in the future. CITB-ConstructionSkills is adding value to industry by working with businesses to offer apprenticeships and training and by promoting the opportunities for job progression that a career in construction can offer young people and job seekers.”