Mark Farmer adopts the analogy of an ailing patient, with symptoms ranging from low productivity to a bad public image

The Farmer Review pulls no punches, saying that if reform is not swift and far-reaching the construction industry “will see a long-term and inexorable decline in its fortunes”.

Here are the key issues that are holding back the industry, according to the report:

  • Industry could see a 25% decline in the available labour force within a decade
  • 700,000 new workers will be needed in five years to replace those retiring
  • Only a third of high-rise buildings are completed on time
  • Construction has the highest proportion of self-employed workers of any industry, at 40%
  • The aims of the industrial strategy, Construction 2025, look “impossible to achieve” in current industry
  • Contractor operating margins fell by 60% between 2010 and 2013
  • Only agriculture has a lower proportion of employers engaged in training than construction
  • While large firms recover the vast majority of the CITB levy paid, the smallest firms recover just 22%.

 

Topics