Okay, so there’s a downturn, but it’s never a bad time to bolt on a few extra skills …

With the industry as it is at the moment, it would be reasonable to anticipate a plunge in the number of people wanting to train in construction. “When the property and construction industry recovered last time it had difficulty recruiting enough professional graduates in most areas because the numbers joining some of these courses had been low,” recalls Alison Hoddell, head of the school of the built and natural environment at the University of the West of England.

It appears, however, that the link between economic troubles and course recruitment is not always so straightforward. “In the market downturn in the late eighties, early nineties and the seventies, we had a rise in applications,” says Brian Pilkington, lecturer in energy and sustainability in the built environment at the University of Plymouth.

And although it is impossible to predict what will happen this time, there are certainly signs of encouragement: applicant numbers on construction-related courses are actually thriving, and universities do not expect these to drop anytime soon. Hoddell, for one, says she has not noticed any impact of the economic downturn on enrolment so far this time.

“We don’t know the exact numbers yet, but applications for professional postgraduate qualifications this year look good,” she says. “We are continuing to receive enquiries.”

In the market downturn in the late eighties, early nineties and the seventies, we had a rise in applications

Brian Pilkington, University of Plymouth

Peter Barrett, director of postgraduate studies at the school of property, construction and planning at Birmingham City University, agrees that there has not been a significant decrease in interest in courses, apart from a marginal drop on real estate courses, from which a few applicants have withdrawn or deferred to next year.

“Despite what we are constantly hearing in the media about the construction industry being in decline, in reality this appears to be restricted to the residential and housebuilding sectors – infrastructure and public and commercial development projects are holding their own,” says Barrett. ”As students are aware of this, they do not appear to be put off, especially in the short term.”

The question is: with the industry in such a precarious position at the moment, what’s keeping students interested?

“Applicants appear to appreciate the cyclical nature of the construction and property sectors,” explains Hoddell. “They expect good times to come again.”

Applicants appear to appreciate the cyclical nature of the construction sector. They expect good times to come again

Alison Hoddell, UWE

This faith that there is plenty of work ahead has stemmed from projects such as the £9.3bn 2012 Olympics project, and the £16bn Crossrail scheme, says Pilkington. “Both these projects have fixed and inflexible deadlines, which means a guaranteed amount of work,” he says. “So, applicants are applying for courses with optimism.”

In fact, while the rest of the industry’s strength dwindles, it appears that the downturn may have the opposite effect on student numbers – they may actually rise.

“Education is normally quite a long-term plan, so rather than driving down enrolment numbers I actually believe the downturn will push them up,” says David Woolven, director of studies of the school of construction and project management at The Bartlett school of architecture at University College London. “Past experiences have shown that during a downturn, people take time out to develop their skills.They see the drop in work levels as a chance to change direction and retrain,” he says.

Pilkington provides an example: “We’ve had a few enquiries from people who’ve trained as home information pack inspectors, but do not have enough work in the area.” As this qualification doesn’t transfer easily to other areas of work, he says, many want to retrain.

Rather than driving down enrolment numbers I actually believe the downturn will push them up

David Woolven, The Bartlett

The downturn has also led companies to look for new skills from employees to meet the demands of a tougher market. Factors such as more homes being refurbished while new homes are not being built and companies’ efforts to expand outside the UK, coupled with the continuing drive towards more sustainable construction, mean people are flooding into universities to give themselves an edge in the job market.

It appears the drivers for change to construction education are coming from all directions – demand from employers, government regulation, general interest as well as the downturn.

In fact, the long-term impact of the financial troubles may be an army of highly trained industry professionals emerging from university and entering the industry just in time to pick up work when the market recovers.

Perhaps there’s something to be optimistic about after all.

For more information on opportunities to study go to www.building.co.uk/students