Skills

Kier, Sir Robert McAlpine and Multiplex are exploring possibilities to enable tradespeople and site-based staff to work flexibly, Construction News can reveal. Kier will soon start pilot programmes on three projects that will see workers, including tradespeople, try flexible-working options. The pilot will be run in association with flexible working…

The construction industry will require special treatment to bring in EU workers and ease labour shortages as the deadline to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme approaches, experts have claimed. European citizens, who previously were able to work in the UK without additional documentation, have until 30 June to apply…

More than 100 staff at the CITB have been hit by pay problems dating back to spring 2020, linked to the furlough scheme. Staff who were furloughed have reported being underpaid and overpaid. Some others that stayed working full time found they were only paid at the 80 per cent…

Four pilot projects, including Skanska’s HS2 site and jobs being delivering by Bam and Willmott Dixon, have found that flexible-working practices for tradespeople can work. The projects, including HS2, tested a range of different flexible-working options for site-based staff, encompassing manual workers and ‘white collar’ workers such as engineers and…

Wates has begun the rollout of a flexible working policy that it says will apply to all roles, both onsite and office-based, by 2025. The tier-one contractor said that all new roles will be advertised as flexible, while existing employees will be able to request flexibility. It has predicted the…

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) claims relations with SMEs have improved as it moves closer to its crucial levy vote. CITB policy director Steve Radley told Construction News more and more SMEs are getting involved in the organisation, after SME leaders expressed concerns in recent years that they were…

Labour availability is expected to drop in the coming months as vacancies hit a 20-year high. There were on average 35,000 construction job vacancies in March to May, according to the Office for National Statistics. This is the highest level in the 20 years of data the ONS has and…

A Balfour Beatty/NG Bailey joint venture and client EDF have U-turned on a plan to use ‘deskilled’ workers for electrical jobs at Hinkley Point C (HPC). Electricians staged protests over plans by the JV to hire ‘engineering construction operatives’, who would carry out tasks such as containment. Unite the union…

Construction News has today launched an initiative designed to help firms in the sector become more welcoming to women. The Inspiring Women in Construction Pledge is a voluntary code that companies can adopt to demonstrate their determination to promote gender equality. As well as a public statement of intent, the…

An extra 216,800 construction workers will be needed by 2025 to meet the UK's construction demands. Infrastructure will be a major source of demand in the coming years, particularly as major projects such as HS2 ramp up. The need to retrofit existing buildings to meet net zero emissions targets will…