Recruiting managers from other industries could be the answer to plugging leadership gaps in construction, according to a survey of construction managers by the Chartered Institute of Building

The survey of more than 700 managers, released exclusively to Building, identified areas where expertise is needed such as “the promotion of equality and standards”, “innovation and managing business processes” and “planning and implementing change”.

A spokesperson for the CIOB said: “Staff movements post-recession create an opportunity for the industry to attract new talents. Some of those skills needed are perhaps more generic than the industry would like to believe and could therefore be attracted from across other industries.”

It is understood that large construction companies, including Laing O’Rourke, are looking outside the industry for more technical expertise.

One source said: “Laing O’Rourke is hiring engineers from the motor industry to work onprojects that require mechanical expertise. They have found that a lot of the skills are transferable to construction.”

According to the survey, almost half said the recession had resulted in them feeling demotivated, 41% said their pay had been frozen, the same percentage reported they were dealing with an increased workload and 31% felt their additional efforts had gone unrecognised.