Building the Future of Our Sector Through Apprenticeships

The UK’s construction industry has long faced worker shortages, with several roles now appearing on the government’s shortage occupation list. Part of the issue is that the construction sector doesn’t have the same pulling power as the likes of the automotive or aerospace sectors and is still viewed as very ‘traditional’ in terms of methodology, skills and culture.  

The Construction Sector is often viewed as old-fashioned, too. Unsurprisingly, as CEO and founder Brian Morrisroe has alluded to on numerous occasions, including at the CIF Conference in Dublin in 2018, when he described the sector as “pretty reactive.” Brian went on to explain that construction firms are usually so busy dealing with day-to-day issues that they rarely have the time or capacity to think strategically which can hamper their ability to change or modernise working practices.

For him, culture change should be an organisational imperative if we want the sector to remain relevant for decades to come. One great way to welcome new ideas is through the recruitment of the next generation who bring diversity of skills and thought.  

The demand for skills brings an opportunity for the sector to modernise. And there are a number of industry initiatives designed to attract people to our sector, like Build UK’s Open Doors. We support many of our clients each year who open up their project sites to showcase the great things that happen behind the hoardings, as well as the wide variety of roles on offer. Through initiatives like these, we are slowly tackling the sector’s image and opening eyes and minds.  

Getting an Apprentice’s View

Feedback is powerful and we are pleased that two of our own apprentices were able to positively champion our industry during a recent episode of Quest Personnel’s Building Your Career podcast.  

Both Midia and Cory had to admit that five years on from Brian’s CIF speech, the perception of the construction industry was broadly the same; that for the most part we are seen as only welcoming one archetype of person. However, the reality is very different and Midia said it was “refreshing” and “a huge relief” to see the diversity that exists on Morrisroe sites.

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“Of course, it is a male-dominated industry,” she told podcast host Dom Taujanskas. “But it’s so diverse in terms of culture, race and really seeing the change in ratio of male to female engineers.”  

The culture is changing in other ways, too, with apprentices bringing their own skills and knowledge to the table and more experienced staff giving them opportunities to share.

“Every day, you’re learning something new,” Cory said. “There’s never a day on site where there’s not something interesting going on or you’re not learning a better or more efficient way of doing something. Even though there are supervisors and people above you on site, everyone’s learning from each other.”

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Rising Stars

Thankfully, construction apprenticeships are finally on the rise, with start figures increasing for the first time in three years. Morrisroe currently has a wide range of apprenticeships on offer, allowing young people the chance to kickstart their career in everything from civil engineering and site management to quantity surveying and health and safety.  

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“A lot of people don’t know that the construction industry is one of the highest paying sectors in the UK,” Ligia Ionescu, Morrisroe’s Learning & Development Manager, mentioned on the Building Your Career podcast. It offers “a diverse range of roles, both off-site and on-site. A lot of people think construction is all about getting dirty and just doing the trade roles. But there are so many opportunities within our offices that are brilliant careers in construction and offer great opportunities for career progression.”

She talked about our focus on creating bespoke apprenticeships, rather than having a one size fits all approach to learning and development; something that helps attract and retain a modern, diverse workforce and will propel the construction industry into the future.  

For more information on Morrisroe’s apprenticeships, head here. You can watch and listen to the full podcast below:

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