Young people and the image of construction

The annual Chair’s Debate from the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Construction Industry Group (CIMCIG) late last year addressed the image of the industry – with a unique twist. The panel was made up of younger people within the industry including Emily Dearman, AECOM; Charmaine Petty, Catnic; Robin Lapish, HS2; and Ben Pritchard, invent, and hosted by young-at-heart Don Ward, Chief Executive of Constructing Excellence.

Overall, the debate was very encouraging – it was great to see talented young people on the panel being so enthusiastic and passionate about construction. They certainly had some interesting and useful suggestions on how to improve the image of our much-maligned industry and how to recruit and retain people. This included looking at the terminology we use and how we use it. For example, Emily Dearman from AECOM commented: “When our clients talk about the ‘digital railway’, the room lights up, but when we talk about ‘infrastructure’ it doesn’t sound as engaging.” It’s really important to speak the language of the people we are trying to attract and make construction sound like the dynamic and cutting-edge industry it is.

Another idea was to use more of the holes in hoardings surrounding construction sites to allow passers-by to see what is happening inside – with holes at different heights for children. Construction could be de-mystified further by companies and individuals giving talks at schools and offering plant or site tours.

However, throughout the debate I sensed a reluctance to talk about the fundamental roles in construction – the bricklayers, the chippies, the roofers etc. The discussion focused on making the industry sexier to appeal to graduates, but we also need to attract ground-level workers to work in the factories and onsite.

And the negative perception of construction doesn’t just affect young people. The skills shortage is not going to be solved simply by attracting young talent – there are lots of people who want or are forced to make a career change later in life – and we should do all we can to attract them too. For example, there are fantastic people coming out of the forces who have transferable skills and the right attitude, but who may be put off by construction’s poor image. Buildforce is a great example of an initiative to address this, connecting service leavers with construction companies.

Debates like this are important to make sure everyone is pushing the same message, but it’s up to each individual or company to take responsibility for the image of construction and not rely on organisations like CIMCIG or the Government to solve the problem for us. Businesses need to take the lead by working with schools and universities to inform young people about the career opportunities in construction – and we need to put our money where our mouth is and offer apprenticeship places.

Each individual involved in construction needs to shout louder about the achievements of this fantastic industry, even when talking to friends and family. If each and every one of us promotes construction as the fascinating and important industry it is, we could very quickly start to change hearts and minds.