COMMENT Editor: David Chadwick (cad.user@btc.co.uk) News Editor: Mark Lyward (mark.lyward@btc.co.uk) Advertising Sales: Josh Boulton (josh.boulton@btc.co.uk) Production Manager: Abby Penn (abby.penn@btc.co.uk) Design/Layout: Ian Collis ian.collis@btc.co.uk Circulation/Subscriptions: Christina Willis (christina.willis@btc.co.uk) Publisher: John Jageurs john.jageurs@btc.co.uk Published by Barrow & Thompkins Connexion Ltd. 35 Station Square, Petts Wood, Kent BR5 1LZ Tel: +44 (0) 1689 616 000 Fax: +44 (0) 1689 82 66 22 SUBSCRIPTIONS: UK £35/year, £60/two years, £80/three years; Europe: £48/year, £85 two years, £127/three years; R.O.W. £62/year £115/two years, £168/three years. Single copies can be bought for £8.50 (includes postage & packaging). Published 6 times a year. © <strong>2022</strong> Barrow & Thompkins Connexion Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of the magazine may be reproduced, without prior consent in writing, from the publisher For more magazines from BTC, please visit: www.btc.co.uk Articles published reflect the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or his employees. While every reasonable effort is made to ensure that the contents of editorial and advertising are accurate, no responsibility can be accepted by the publisher for errors, misrepresentations or any resulting effects Comment Left behind? by David Chadwick I'm afraid I have to apologise for pandering to stereotypes by giving a friend a birthday card recently which featured a Private Eye cartoon depicting a bar at a Builders Annual Conference surrounded by a lot of beer drinking workers all showing a 'builder's bum'. I am quite sure none of you have to refer to Google to know out what I mean. It came to mind when putting together the Access Group article in this issue, which contains some shocking figures about the skills shortage in the industry and the lack of young people entering the profession to replace the large numbers rapidly approaching retirement age. Apparently only 3% of young people in the 18-24 age group have expressed any interest in joining the construction industry - far too few to replace a declining workforce or to address the growing demands on the industry. The article puts forward the main issues that have to be addressed, and the need to educate both the leaders and the young to stem the decline. I leave you to read the article but I am, perhaps, at liberty to look at the issue from a broader perspective. A quick look online soon brings up a couple of views from potential recruits who view the profession as a manual labour job for those who don't have the ability to get into university, a low paid profession which only needs low skills, which appear to consist mainly of bricklaying and plumbing. Today's youth are tech savvy and worldly wise. With total access to social media they are both well informed and equally well misinformed, and currently that doesn't include much real information about the actual prospects in the construction industry. That includes the whole gamut of climate change, CO2 emissions, greenhouse gasses and so on and, being young, they are full of zeal and idealism and equate the construction industry, with its continuing reliance on outdated and environmentally harmful technologies, as the bad guys in all this. Their concerns are magnified by the media which broadcasts their views, continues to depict workers in the industry unfavourably and publishes Private Eye cartoons to turn the screw another couple of degrees. In reality, the construction industry is in the frontline of the battle to build a sustainable environment. Its architects, engineers and on-site workers are committed to building living and working environments and an infrastructure without harming the planet further, for both our own need and the wellbeing of our children and the rest of the planet. To do so we need to leverage all of the latest technologies and tools, but more than this we need to get across to millennials that the industry consists of a wide range of opportunities, looking for creative solutions to problems that affect the whole planet. We need to go beyond the 'apprentice' culture - a frame of mind probably fostered and maintained by the current training schemes set up years ago and run as they have been for decades - and persuade the young that careers can be found on and offsite that are both well paid and offer the clout of respected professionals. Failure to address this issue in a creative and forceful manner will result in a massively enfeebled industry, incapable of building the future that we need and deserve - as the figures in the Access Group's article illustrate. It's a strong call to action! 4 <strong>Jan</strong>uary/<strong>Feb</strong>ruary <strong>2022</strong>
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