Investigating skill shortages in the UK Construction Industry: A study on job-specific skills for Quantity Surveying & Engineering roles

The UK construction sector is one of the country's leading economic drivers, however a perceived shortage of skilled professionals is becoming a challenge for a field that relies on its workforce more than most. This research paper investigates these skill shortages within the UK construction industry and evaluates quantity surveying and engineering apprenticeships against full-time degree education to see how these skills shortages can be tackled. Comparing both routes will determine their effectiveness in producing and providing job-specific skills to the UK construction industry. Existing literature will be analysed to provide an understanding of the reasons behind the UK construction industry’s skills crisis. It will then carry forward to examine the current contribution that apprenticeship schemes and full-time degree courses are having on the UK construction industry. A questionnaire survey is employed to further validate and / or compare the findings within the literature review. The main findings concluded that the skills crisis is due to an ageing population, negative perceptions, poor image, lack of understanding of the roles and poor advertisement of these job roles within schools. In addition to this, the questionnaire provided further original insights which demonstrates that the UK construction industry highly value the job-specific skills that are formed through an apprenticeship scheme. The key finding being that apprenticeships provide both theory and practical on the job training and this is seen to be where full-time degree education cannot compete, with the teachings and challenges that arise from real-life working scenarios. The paper concluded and contributed to the existing body of knowledge through a number of recommendations, including the dominant focus on the structure and delivery of apprenticeship schemes, as the retention rate is fairly low compared to the number of entrants