NEWS  

May 2004

BUILDING INDUSTRY RESPONSE TO RISE IN MORTGAGE LENDING

The Bank of England’s recent announcement that mortgage lending rose by £9.34m in March raises concerns about the increasing skill shortages in the South West, particularly of carpenters, joiners and bricklayers. Neil Turner, managing director of Bovey Construction, warns that recruitment and staff retention issues could well slow down the housing boom the region has been experiencing.
According to a survey by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), 71 per cent of regional employers have experienced recruitment problems, which can drive them to recruit from outside the region. Particular issues raised are the poor basic skills of younger recruits and the lack of IT skills among older recruits.

Mr Turner, whose company has been shortlisted for a national award, the Built-In Quality Award, suggests a practical solution would be for the smaller employers who dominate the industry to revise their recruitment criteria. The solution, he says, is to recruit on the basis of track record and potential and train staff in the skills required.

According to John Jones, NVQ Programme Manager for the CITB’s National Construction College, “Bovey Construction is one of the most training committed companies I have ever come across, and this is reflected in their success in their trade award, their excellent staff retention and their high reputation locally.”

While the CITB is campaigning for the entire workforce to be NVQ-qualified by 2010, Bovey Construction is already there: all of the staff, excluding labourers, either have an NVQ or are working towards one. The company has now enrolled two staff members, Brian Thirtle from Kingskerswell and Terry Bulley from Newton Abbot, on an NVQ 3 course in construction site supervision, which means that within two years all site managers will have specific qualifications.

Mr Turner said: “We encourage and develop the skills of everyone who works for us. That means we can provide the quality house owners want, while providing job satisfaction and career development for our team. That is the only effective way of handling the recruitment issue in the region.”
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