AB Glass was privileged recently to work with Swansea Bay Business Life to pull together and sponsor a round table designed to tackle the growing skills gap in the construction industry, held at Gower College Swansea.
A distinguished list of experts attended including representatives from training providers Cyfle Building Skills, the Construction Industry Training Board Wales, and the Construction Wales Innovation Centre within UWTSD; and private sector companies including Kier, Willmott Dixon, Morganstone and TRJ.
Attendees debated the complex issues surrounding attracting young people into the construction industry and ensuring they have rewarding and clear career paths once they choose the sector.
Alan Brayley, managing director, AB Glass, said that the construction industry must pull together and ensure all stakeholders are “singing from the same hymn sheet” if it is to succeed in making the construction industry appealing as a career path to a diverse cross section of young people – thus securing the talent and numbers of individuals it will need for future growth.
“We are engaged with a number of schemes that mean we work with young people and schools and on the whole, they are simply unaware of the opportunities available to them in the construction industry. But, as businesses, that is a problem down the line; as businesses, we need to act,” he said.
A comprehensive writeup covering the event will be published in the autumn issue of Swansea Bay Business Life. We look forward to reading and hope it will spark further debate and ultimately change within the industry.