Infrastructure projects have exploded across the UK, and it’s most likely going to lead to a huge win for umbrella company contractors looking for more work.
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association says that there’s been a serious increase in the number of companies that have reported their activity levels on the rise. Nearly 3 out of every 5 firms reported to CECA that they’re working more than they were just 12 short months ago, and with only 14 per cent of companies reporting a decreased workload the overall increase is some 44 per cent in a positive direction.
Now let’s look at 2012’s figures. The balance was actually in the negative! We had a -2 per cent growth rate, and the 46 percentage points in total we’ve gained in just a year indicates that the infrastructure sector has positively exploded. This is going to bring massive opportunities for contractors, and not just in the construction industry; newly-constructed infrastructure projects often have a knock-on effect that spreads out in ripples and brings prosperity wherever it touches.
A good example of this is the oil and gas sector up north. Scotland’s economic growth is in a much better place than the rest of the UK as a result of the knock-on effect of the oil and gas sector’s meteoric rise, and luckily this increased activity will soon spread across the UK with these new infrastructure projects taking off. It’s good for business, it’s good for the economy, and it’s good for the average Brit regardless of whether you’re a traditional employee or your an interim worker like a contractor or freelancer.
Let’s hope this trend continues well into next year. CECA figures say that optimism is high for 2014, with positive balance of 40 per cent of infrastructure firms indicating that there should be more work for them next year. Confidence counts for a lot, and while there’s obviously nothing we can do to predict the future with perfect accuracy it’s a good indicator that things are looking up – for everyone. In the meantime, let’s just enjoy the renewed prosperity that the infrastructure sector is experiencing, especially since it can’t help but lead to bigger and better things in the future for us all.
