Rebuilding Britain

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY FOR RECOVERY IS KIND TO CONSTRUCTION

The past few months have not been a busy time for recruitment. Unemployment figures are rising and expecting to increase when the furlough support is scaled back and eventually stopped, and there have been significant reductions in working hours. Both factors that are not a cause for growth in the recruitment sector. But are green shoots already appearing?

Recruitment businesses that specialise in healthcare have found a demand that outstrips their supply, but for those that work with retail, hospitality, manufacturing and others that have been adversely affected by the pandemic, the first quarters of 2020 have been lean indeed.

In a difference to previous economic downturns; we have seen that employers have the money to hire new staff, but they are being cautious and holding onto their reserves. There has also been difficulty with the mechanics of the hiring processes.

Many applicants have been worried about starting a new job over fears of catching COVID and passing it onto loved ones. Others have struggled with a new virtual interview process; both employers and candidates.

To track the economic recovery and spot potential issues, the Recruitment & Employment Confederation launched a jobs Recovery Tracker in May which uses job adverts to track data across industries and areas. The demand for both architects and construction project managers has fallen by 6.5 and 6.2%, which is unsurprising while new building projects are delayed.

Happily, for the construction sector, it looks like the government plans to get the industry back on track as soon as possible.

In early June, it was announced that Boris Johnson was preparing to set out a blueprint for ‘Rebuilding Britain’, and he has told ministers to speed up the construction of schools and hospitals.

At the time of writing, it was expected that the Prime Minister will set out his party’s plans for a major new infrastructure including his manifesto pledges of building 40 new hospitals by 2030 and greatly improving the country’s roads.

Thankfully, it appears that the government doesn’t want to follow the 2008 road of austerity out of recession. In addition to the above, they are also planning massive investment in research and development and other schemes to help us all part with the money we’ve saved over the past three months!

Although construction work slowed, it never really stopped, as responsible contractors have worked to provide social distancing measures to make their sites as safe as possible. With lockdown easing, whether endorsed by the government or not, we are already finding businesses hungry for growth and looking to hire new staff.

That’s not to say that things will stay the same. It’s likely that some of the changes wrought by the virus will be long-lasting, if not permanent. Despite the initial unease, many have taken to virtual interviews like a duck to water; they cut down on time and money. There will also probably be a much greater reliance on recruitment technology and tech that helps manage staff on-site. Lastly, it’s likely that contracts will change. If nothing else we now know that it’s very possible to be productive from home and people that can do so, may demand some of that flexibility going forward.

The construction industry always bounces back. It’s often the case that the first murmurs of economic downturn will be felt by the contractors and construction staff, but they are also one of the fastest industries out of the gates when the money is there.