// Opinion
What does the future hold for careers in the scaffolding industry? At a time when companies were already struggling to fill roles, the Covid pandemic has put extra stress on the industry, reflects Des Moore
F
or a company that’s coming up to its 50th anniversary, TRAD Scaffolding has certainly seen its share of industry challenges. And I know we’re not alone in that. Over the past few years, I’ve been talking with lots of businesses in both scaffolding and the wider construction industry about how we encourage people to join the industry at a time when construction is vital to the economy – and also to support the ‘build, build, build’ New Deal strategy announced by Boris Johnson earlier this year. Before this year, we were already experiencing issues with EU and other overseas workers deciding to return home, leaving significant gaps in the workforce. As we all know, training takes time – you can’t just replace a seasoned scaffolder with someone out of school – so it’s important that we are both bringing new talent into the business and able to recruit experienced professionals where necessary. Of course, 2020 has thrown everything at us, with the pandemic halting work on many construction sites and projects experiencing downtime because of furlough or other restrictions. The subsequent and continued hit to the economy means that getting construction and infrastructure projects back on line is a priority – and with that comes a need for a competent and sustainable workforce. We’ve heard a lot of warnings about a ‘lost generation’ – those young people who would have been coming out of school or college and looking for secure apprenticeships and jobs that give them useful skills to start their career. That’s why the government has announced a number of
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