Popularity of Construction as a Career Rockets

LONDON - May 23, 2014 - PRLog -- -Poll of 9,000 workers shows popularity of Construction soaring
-Boost in popularity down to the Crossrail dividend

The popularity of Construction as an industry to work in is soaring, according to Randstad, the specialist construction recruiter.

The annual survey of over 9,215 Brits, found that the Automotive and Aerospace industries are perceived to be the most attractive to work in.  While the Construction industry was perceived as being less attractive than average, the research showed a significant upswing in the popularity of the sector.

Last year, of respondents who knew one or more companies operating in the sector, just 21 per cent of those interviewed said construction was as attractive industry to work in.  By 2014, that had risen to 27 per cent.

Owen Goodhead, managing director of Randstad Construction, Property & Engineering said: “The construction sector is now reaping a Crossrail dividend.  While other sectors, like Oil & Gas and Business Services, have seen their appeal wane over the last year, Britain’s construction sector has seen its attractiveness soar.  Salaries have started to rise across the board but additionally a lot of that good-will comes in response to Crossrail which is driving up demand for skilled workers and we’re seeing a lot of demand for construction site managers in particular.  The last twelve months have seen significant delivery on Crossrail as the project moves into the peak of construction.  That shouldn’t ease off until 2015.  While initial work commenced in 2009, over the course of 2013, the pace really picked up.  There are now 10,000 people working across over 40 construction sites.  A total of seven tunnelling machines are now in operation and construction work is underway on flagship new Crossrail stations in central London and Docklands.”

The five least attractive sectors were named as Business Services, Utilities & Energy, Transport & Logistics, Leisure, and Insurance.

The poll was carried out as part of the annual Randstad Award, the largest piece of independent international employer branding research in the world, capturing the views of approximately 200,000 people across 23 countries^[1].  The award aims to identify the most attractive large employers in different countries, as judged by the working population.

Automotive giant BMW, which employs approximately 18,000 people in the UK alone, was named the country’s most attractive large employer overall.  Engineering colossus Rolls Royce plc was the second most attractive large employer in the UK and retailer John Lewis came in third position.

Randstad has also conducted research into how well people felt their friends understood their jobs.  Only 56 per cent of construction professionals said their friends actually understood what they did for a living.

Owen Goodhead said, “If the industry can do a better job explaining exactly what it involves to young people, perhaps we can encourage more to get into it.”

Randstad says the number of construction professionals working in the UK needs to rise by almost 145,000 people between now and 2050 to meet the demands of the expanding population.

-- ENDS --

NOTES TO EDITORS

Randstad Financial & Professional is part of the Randstad group, one of the leading recruitment & HR services providers in the world with a top five position in the UK and a top three position in fifteen countries including the US, France and Germany.

In the UK, Randstad’s business lines serve the public and private sectors across Accounting and Financial services; Business Support; Construction, Property and Engineering; Education; Health and Social Care; Interim Management and Search; Human Resources; IT; Sales, Student and Worker Support and In-House and Managed Services.

At the end of 2012, Randstad had 1,750 corporate employees in the UK, working in 203 locations. UK revenue in 2012 was €799 million. Randstad Holding nv was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands and listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. For more information see www.randstad.co.uk  and www.randstad.co.uk/cpe.

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[1] Representative sample aged 18 to 65 based on region, age and sex – slightly biased towards respondents aged under 40, potential workers being the target audience of the survey.  The sample comprised of students, employed and unemployed workforce.  The interviews were conducted online between September 6 and December 30, 2013.