While things are looking good all over for many UK industries, the construction sector in particular is really driving demand for contract workers right now.
Freelancers and umbrella company contractors have been busier than a one-legged man in an arse kicking competition over the past few months, mostly due to the fact that there are some serious talent shortages right now. In a world that seems to be finally emerging from the doldrums of the economic downturn, it’s nice to see so many different industries in the UK expanding by using the self-employed, and the one sector in need of skilled and qualified workers right now just happens to be the construction industry.
Or at least that’s what the Reed Job Index says. The newest data from Reed says that year-on-year growth for August was up by 16 per cent overall – no mean feat for the summer, which is almost always a hard month due to the summer holidays. Meanwhile the construction sector led the charge, what with its record-shattering jump of 67 per cent!
So what does this mean? Well there’s the obvious – there are buildings going up across the UK in much greater numbers than they were last year. This means that there’s a heightened demand for new construction, and that’s a brilliant thing in that it means the economy is most certainly clawing its way out of the toilet.
But on top of that it means that contractors with construction expertise are reaping the benefits in a major way thanks to the skills shortage we’ve got going right now. It’s a shame that there aren’t more Brits working in the construction industry, but those that do – and those that are contractors and not permanent employees – get to pick and choose from the best and most lucrative projects. Life can be good sometimes, can’t it?
Of course there are some problems still. With demand this high, not even the nation’s army of freelance construction specialists will keep the construction sector satisfied. For what it’s worth, we’re most likely going to run into problems down the line where demand is so high that the current levels of supply will simply be unable to support it, leading to a contraction in the sector once more. In other words, nobody’s going to want new buildings – and that’s bad for the industry.
Let’s just hope that our doughty construction contractors can handle the strain!
