Smile, you work in the construction industry!

A recent survey by the Construction Industry Council aimed to find out if people are satisfied working in the industry. The results suggest overwhelming positivity across the sector.

734 people responded to the survey, out of which 83% said that they are proud to be part of our industry. Only 4% claim that they are not, 9% are unsure. (3% chose not to answer.) Perhaps more impressively, 62% of respondents had been in the industry for over 10 years – showing that even difficulties and challenges faced over recent years have not deterred them from continuing within their positions. The general message taken from the results was a good one, with the majority of people involved believing that the construction industry plays a vital role in the UK; their job directly influencing this. 55% of people felt that their job was inspiring.

Despite such a large amount of people reporting a great deal of job satisfaction, only 74% of people said that they would recommend working in their industry to others. This is for a few reasons:

The lack of flexible working practices sometimes make it hard for both genders to progress equally within their field whilst simultaneously starting a family
Poor communication between professionals can cause stress and frustration throughout the process of construction
Many feel that not enough is currently being done in the name of sustainability. Refurb and renew is currently not getting the attention in the industry that people feel it deserves.

Another issue was brought to light by the survey – the quality of training and education within the sector, which could potentially be contributing to the current skills crisis. It seems widely accepted that relevant training needs to improve in order to better prepare newcomers to the industry so that they have maximum opportunity to experience success throughout their career.

CIC chairman, Tony Burton made a statement about the results, saying “I congratulate the CIC2050 Group on this excellent piece of work. As we strive to adopt new working practices, brought about by new technologies and by economic, sustainability and climate change imperatives, we must be receptive to new ideas. This survey has been informed by a broad and deep cross section of the construction industry workforce; it contains important insights; we do well to take note of what it has to say.”

The CIC continue to collate important data and statistics and aim to share them with industry professionals, giving them much better visibility and understanding of their working environment.

Published on 30/10/2014