Construction firms asked to support graduates
A new campaign has called upon UK firms to help unemployed graduates find their first jobs in construction.
The Pledge Campaign, backed by consultancy firm John Rowan and construction industry magazine Building, says that construction companies should offer internships to graduates qualified for construction jobs to keep British talent attracted to the construction industry. By doing so, companies can both help solve their own gaps in staffing and defend against future skills shortages.
According to Building, nearly 36,000 people graduated in construction related subjects in 2009. Despite this, a survey in September of that year found that 60% had failed to find jobs in construction and a third were considering alternative areas of work.
Stephen Gee, managing partner of John Rowan, calculates that if construction firms made 2% of their staff interns in 2010, then every unemployed graduate would get at least one placement. He and other supporters of the campaign say that this will help meet demands of the industry's predicted growth between 2011 and 2013. According to ConstructionSkills, the industry needs to recruit 37,000 new entrants a year between 2009 and 2013, including 3,770 'professional and technical roles'.
"Given that the professional and technical element of the industry accounts for about 300,00 jobs excluding senior executives and construction managers" said Gee "then 2% will maintain skills slightly above the forecasted level, allowing for some losses along the way".
The Pledge aims to get the industry to create 1,500 internships in each quarter of 2010. It is encouraging employers to advertise internship vacancies on the government's Graduate Talent Pool website, offering placements of anything from several weeks to several months. Employers can pay interns anything from expenses to the going market rate for the equivalent permanent role, though generally speaking some middle ground is likely to attract the best and brightest of the graduate crop.
Author: William Hobson
Keywords: jobs in construction, construction jobs