Who’s responsible for overcoming the current skill shortage?

With the current skill shortage at its most desperate since the recession we will his month look at who is responsible for overcoming these testing times.

Following on from last month’s issue on labour shortage we will concentrate on how the different aspects of the construction industry are attempting the steer the sector towards a brighter future.

As discussed previously the government reacted quickly when faced with a labour shortage crisis within the construction sector in 2009. The strategy adopted was successful in increasing apprenticeship & STEM (science, technology, engineering & maths) based course enrolment across the majority of the UK. However in terms of a future shortage a significant amount of damage had already been caused and as such the industry now faces a skill shortage amongst the reduced number of graduates compared to the late 1990’s & early 2000’s. This comes at a time where a strong construction sector would hugely benefit the recovering economy.

There are a number of important reasons why the skill shortage has now come to the forefront of the industry, none more so than the 2008 recession which created an unstable sector which professionals quickly abandoned in search of more promising opportunities. However following the government’s recent promotion of the apprenticeship scheme & STEM courses the blame for skill shortage has shifted onto the contractors rather than the governments. As with any profession experience is vital to development, in particular on-site training within the construction industry makes up a significant aspect of the professional development. Unfortunately with the technology progressing rapidly within the industry a skill shortage is inevitable. The skill shortage is further enhanced with the often required manufacturer led training on new products. Experienced staff are often chosen to partake in the training courses ahead of the apprentices.

Therefore many contractors would argue that although the majority of the responsibility falls onto their shoulders a small proportion must be placed onto the manufacturers. Recently Mitsubishi have begun running installation and design training courses for their new products. After all the government has provided easier & more cost effective avenues for school/college leavers to enter the industry, the future training should fall to the organisations that stand to benefit the most.  However if contractors & manufacturers were to both train newly qualified operatives the method would only serve to reduce the long term shortage. The current shortage would not be addressed immediately; therefore a more dramatic answer is needed.

The current problem faced by many contractors is supply & demand in relation to time. Contractors do not have the project time to search for reliable qualified staff; therefore the task is often left to agency recruiters. This quite often results in an inflated day rate cost in addition to the agency fees per personnel. Furthermore this current method of easing the skill shortage is detrimental to the long term solution. Unfortunately due to time constraints there aren’t many solutions for the current skill shortage other than employing specialist sub-contractors, which again comes with a greatly increased cost & further impacts on the long term problem.

Although NWP like all other contractors cannot by pass the current shortage, we do try to lessen the impact with our training/project matrix. In the months after the recession Managing Director Tim Keyes alongside Operations Director Darren Williams and the project team recognised the future shortage and began working on a bespoke training process. Twinned with the local further education college we managed to combat the shortage mainly down to our forward order project list at the time of the recession.

Tim Keyes adds – “Not long before the recession we had started work on a Hotel & Country club, we had also secured a few student accommodation projects. This allowed us to book the site staff onto courses in the weeks in between the completion of one project and the start of another. This meant the apprentices were gaining valuable experience on site whilst still keeping up to date with the latest manufacturer training programs. We saw how well this worked and have continued it forward.”

“Having a good relationship with the local further education college has also helped NWP. In addition to the 4 apprentices we employ every September we also offer the opportunity for young designers to join our in house design team every January. This usually comprises of the student working alongside our designers on current projects 3 days a week for 6 – 8 weeks and gives them a fantastic opportunity to experience real world design processes.”

Although the shortage hasn’t impacted as harshly as originally predicted, there is still a danger to smaller contractors. NWP will continue to use the training Matrix and work in conjunction with manufacturers to offer the best training possible to our staff, in particular our new apprentices.

There is no doubting the effect the labour/skill shortage has, and continues to have on the construction industry post-recession. However with a strong economy, increased numbers applying for apprenticeships & STEM courses and the additional manufacturer based training the sector is fast approaching its most exciting period. NWP hope to progress alongside the developing sector & look forward to the challenging projects beginning in the near future.

Sam Evans

Labour Shortage

Since 2008 the United Kingdom has been experiencing a shortage of skilled workers across all industries. The majority of professions have struggled to find skilled personnel since the recession; it is believed although the current situation has shown signs of improvement, the construction industry is approaching a ‘future shortage’. This week we will look at what caused this drop & how NWP electrical & mechanical have dealt with it.

The global recession began in December 2007, with Britain recognising its inclusion in the summer of 2008. Caused by a huge drop in the property market and individuals lack of confidence following the banking crisis the recession soon began affecting the construction industry which showed signs of depression almost instantly. Investors had begun withdrawing their crucial backing from the troubled market even before the recession was announced as the industry had already shown signs of decline, meaning a high margin of construction projects remained unfinished. As uncertainty within the industry grew many professional personnel pursued other employment opportunities due to their transferable skill set. This mass exodus created an instant shortage within the industry that would last years, creating a further negative affect on the economy with unemployment reaching its highest level for 20 years. The impact worsened furthermore when skilled migrant workers began returning to their birth country in search of greater opportunities, this figure deemed to be nearly 40% from 2009 to 2012.

In addition to the instant shortage the industry was facing a ‘future shortage’ as the number of people enrolling on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) based courses dropped significantly.  This future shortage was of huge concern to the Government for two main reasons. The first being the current faltering construction industry as a whole, the second being the very real possibility of the economy dropping into another recession once the future shortage became actual. As such the government began working on a method of reducing the double impact the recession could have on the construction industry. They began investing heavily in apprenticeship schemes in the hope it would lessen the effect of the ‘future shortage’. In addition they also looked at the curriculum within schools and began encouraging students to pursue engineering based qualifications. This was further encouraged following the devastating tsunami in Japan in 2011. Although Japan had a high percentage of graduates from STEM based courses, their current curriculum doesn’t encourage practical learning meaning their particular shortage was personnel without experience rather than the UK’s graduate shortage. It is estimated within the UK nearly 400,000 personnel have left the construction industry, or have undertaken degrees in more promising sectors.

With the government putting more emphasis on practical learning and further education by way of apprenticeship schemes a certain responsibility had fallen on to companies within the industry to ensure these apprenticeship schemes where fore filled. NWP utilised the new apprenticeship scheme to maximum effect recruiting 6 apprentices. These apprentices were divided into the 4 different departments within the company, 2 would be undertaking their training within the mechanical division, 2 would be within the electrical division with the remaining two split between the renewable technology department & the estimating department. NWP endeavour to recruit new apprentices every summer. Running concurrently with the apprenticeship schemes NWP also began a work experience program in 2010 offering young designers the opportunity to work within NWP’s design team for 8 weeks whilst completing their qualifications.

NWP realised at an early stage that although the headquarters of the company were in Kinmel Bay, North Wales the recession would not allow for the operations to remain local, with that in mind Managing Director Tim Keyes took the decision to seek developments across the UK. A decision that would see NWP open 3 satellite offices, the first in London, followed by Edinburgh & finally Cardiff. Although the vast majority of development now lie across the border in England & Scotland a large percentage of employees reside in North Wales. NWP’s current recruitment policy ensures a percentage of the installation team are employed from the surrounding area of each development.

“We always try and build an installation team of existing NWP operatives, some of which came through our original apprenticeship program, and local labour. That local labour will then be moved onto the next project should it be close enough for their commute. In Edinburgh for instance we have completed 4 student accommodation projects; the installation team has remained consistent throughout each development, the team will move onto our next scheme (24 apartments & a Lidl Supermarket) in May – Tim Keyes.”

Although NWP’s operational area has progressed to include the whole of the UK, it has been a steady increase, the apprenticeship program allowed NWP to train the chosen operatives on the job whilst they gained their qualification at the local further education college. NWP also offer professional development once an individual’s apprenticeship is complete with 70% of their current site supervisors progressing from mate to supervisor.

NWP also have a project engineer responsible for each district who work alongside the site supervisors. We believe this approach gives added support throughout the installation team with a dedicated point of contact for all installation operatives on site and within the head office. In addition to this structured management system once NWP have been awarded a project in a new location we will begin tendering on schemes within a close proximity to that recently won projects. For instance we currently have 3 projects under development in Finsbury Park, London.

In addition NWP take advantage of the ‘just in time’ delivery method, a method we have used across many of our projects in the past including Hotel Football, Old Trafford. This particular method ensures our sites are safe, but also ensures they have the right amount of operatives on each site every week. The ‘just in time’ method assists when initial project plans are put in place by the Project Manager and our Operations Director Darren Williams.

As mentioned the shortage is still affecting the construction industry across the United Kingdom, with signs it will only worsen over the coming months due to the future shortage becoming actual. In 2013 the government began surveying the affected industries in terms of labour shortages and found that 9 areas across all professions were experiencing massive shortages. However when the survey was carried out again in 2014 this figure had risen to 43 areas, which included all aspects of engineering, in fact only nursing & teaching ranked worse. Furthermore when the London chamber of commerce (LCCI) surveyed the construction industry they found that an additional 20% of construction managers, surveyors & electricians will be required over the next 4 years to keep up with the current demand.

Over the last 12 months nearly 700,000 jobs have been created within the construction industry, however employees are finding it increasingly difficult to find skilled workers, this has been accredited to newer technology become more labour intensive, the training for which is not currently included within the apprentice schemes on offer. Although the current scheme has effectively reduced the shortage compared to the figures the government originally estimated, it is falling short with regards to renewable technology which is becoming more and more prominent into today’s industry.

Enrolment onto STEM based university courses is once again at a steady level across England & Wales, and apprenticeship schemes across England have increased by over 160,000 participants since 2013. This is in contrast to Wales where the apprenticeship enrolment numbers have fallen since the recession and continue to do so. It would seem although the future shortage is currently under control in England, more work is required in Wales to avoid another crisis.

Sam Evans

Design Engineer NWP Electrical & Mechanical Services.

Business Development

Business Development.

Developing an organisation is a never ending task, year on year new achievements are identified, most will be met however inevitably a small percentage will be missed or more commonly extended by 12 months, albeit business development may begin to slow once a certain level has been met certain goals will continue.  All business development strategies have a similar outcome, be it achieving growth in a specific geographical area or simply increasing ones presence in existing operation locations. The end product is always greater recognition & awareness of ones brand, and a larger percentage of new opportunities to consider.

NWP have a clear strategy when outlining business development proposals. This process includes identifying key growth locations, and ever increasing the size & difficulty of projects. This approach allows NWP to increase its operations in rapidly developing area’s and furthermore ensures we are prepared for increasingly challenging schemes within these area’s in addition to new locations identified in the future. Without a clear list of goals a company will struggle to continue its growth in terms of workforce & brand recognition. With a few simple & easily achievable requirements a company can significantly improve its chance of development. Initially starting with only 5 employees in 1995 NWP have followed their simple business development plan and now include in their portfolio such projects as Hotel Football - Old Trafford, the National Graphene Institute & various student accommodation projects totalling 2195 bedrooms.

New Opportunity

Quite often, especially within the construction sector there is a need to pursue larger projects; however an important and all too often ignored aspect of larger projects is larger workforce. When setting out development processes it’s imperative to recognise an increase too far. Whilst NWP has grown its workforce and operations portfolio rapidly we have always & will continue to consider each project individually. New opportunities are so important to business development that often the operations aspect can be overlooked. Although within the construction industry having the ability to pick & choose the projects you undertake is seen as a luxury, it is often necessary to allow certain schemes to pass by. After all business decline is a process which will often progress faster than business development and one underperformance on a scheme will significantly assist in the decline.

Research

Research & business development work in conjunction with one another. Quite often a specific development plan will require a significant research input. NWP’s research into key growth locations is a time consuming process however proves profitable. Firstly we will look into recent construction activity, and any further development opportunities before identifying the area which will offer the greatest development and finally we increase our marketing within that area. Using this process has great reward over the last 5 years across the U.K.  At NWP we are also aware of the benefit offered by certain third party organisations which offer their expertise within this field.

Business Development v Business Decline

In a recent online survey it was found that twice as many customers will tell others about bad experience compared to those with good experience. With this in mind it is easy to see why business decline can easily outshine all of an organisations business development plan. Here at NWP we hold our installation quality at the core of our development and we realise we are only as good as our last project. Keeping this in mind it’s a testament to our development plan and workmanship that 80% of our current project have been awarded by way of repeat business from 4 different Main Contractors. Of the 80 percent of repeat business project we have, 70 percent is located in or within 40 miles of areas we identified as key growth locations. Without a strategic business development model, business decline is inevitable as opportunities will be by passed for more well recognised brands, a by-product of an underperforming business development model.

This edition will look at the recently completed Hotel Football & Café Football scheme and how NWP changed their approach when challenged with compact site conditions.

In January 2014 NWP received the order to commence development of the initial building services designs from Kings Consultant on the 132 bed hotel. On-site installation works started at the beginning of February with separate installation teams concentrating on the communal aspect and the 132 bedrooms respectively. Under the leadership of project manager Tom Burley the installation successfully overcame the restrictive site conditions due to its location by utilising a ‘just in time’ ordering process.

Tom Burley explained the benefit using such a method offered NWP.

“Using the ‘just in time’ delivery method ensured we minimised the amount of disruption our particular operation had on the entire site. It is a process we will look to use on future project in London & Cambridge both of which are located next to busy main roads with very limited storage. “

Tom’s opinion was echoed by Managing Director Tim Keyes who believed the process would benefit everybody involved in the development.

“Although utilising such a process takes a considerable amount of forward planning the benefits are clear to see. Not only does the installation run smoother, it also has a huge benefit when we put together our initial project timeline. We were slightly concerned it would lead to some down time due to missed deliveries but all of our suppliers accommodated the changes from the outset.”

 The 132 bedrooms would be split over 7 floors with the Old Trafford Supporters Club located on the canal level, the ground floor would house Café Football run by GG hospitality, and Restaurants would be located on the Mezzanine level & First Floor. The 9^th floor would be home to the rooftop football pitch & plant areas. The rooftop pitch which can double as an outdoor function/hospitality area offers outstanding views of Old Trafford Stadium and the surrounding area.

Working on such a recognised scheme has offered an exciting opportunity for NWP, with the added incentive of working alongside a rapidly growing firm in GG Hospitality. This particular development has improved NWP’s portfolio in both the leisure & retail industry & within the north west of England.

Everybody at NWP is extremely proud to have been involved with such a prestigious development.

For more information on Hotel Football or any of NWP’s projects please visit – www.nwp-ltd.com