Why should you start a career in construction in 2023?

The new year often marks a fresh start for many people and signals time for a change for the year ahead. This could mean many things, but for some of us it means a change in workplace, career or industry. At a time where the cost of living is swiftly increasing, a profession with good security and long-term prospects is widely sought-after. Despite issues such as rising energy and material costs, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the future prospects of the construction industry.

Workforce gaps and the need for extra workers

A career in the construction industry seems to be an appealing one in terms of opportunities for work. A combination of labour shortages impacted by Brexit and COVID-19 work backlogs means there haven’t been enough workers to complete jobs, so individuals with relevant qualifications will be in high demand. Meanwhile, 72% of businesses said that the UK will need a larger workforce due to ambitious targets laid out by the government, such as house building; a key focus in the Levelling Up Agenda. A Construction Skills Network report reveals that more than 250,000 extra workers will be required by 2026, to meet growing demands on the UK sector.

Although it’s impossible to guarantee job security for any job, the construction industry offers a unique career path, where supply currently cannot meet demand for the foreseeable future, meaning those with the sought after skills will be in a strong position during the next few years. Construction vacancies are nearly double the amount they were pre-pandemic in 2019, with more than 45,000 available, representing 3.6% of open job vacancies in the UK. 

Great pay

The skills shortage in this fast paced and growing industry means the pay is great, as 60% of construction firms are struggling to find experienced workers. The starting wage for a new construction worker with no previous experience is in line with retail, warehouse and hospitality workers, but the good thing about construction is, you can quickly earn more as you acquire more skills.

Growth of Infrastructure in 2023

The building of new infrastructure is set to drive growth of construction by 3.8% and slowly rise a further 1.6% in 2023 and 2.6% in 2024. This is largely due to big projects such as HS2, Hinkley Point C and Thames Tideway. Work opportunities can be found in both cities and rural areas and involve everything from individual bespoke house building to megaprojects such as railways or nuclear power stations. 

Whether you fancy getting your hands dirty or not, there's likely to be a perfect job that matches your skills, experience and interests.

At Cotterill Civils, we are always looking for talented people to join our fast growing team, whether that’s in sales, operations or installations.