David Philp: Scotland’s pivotal role in UK construction

The construction industry will generate nearly 3,000 new jobs a year for the Scottish economy between now and 2023, a report from the CIOB has revealed. The report, which examined the construction industry’s impact on the Scottish economy, was launched at a parliamentary reception in Edinburgh as part of the CIOB’s annual Members’ Forum in June.

Ahead of the launch, David Philp global BIM/IM consultancy director, Aecom, posted a blog which picked up the opportunities Scotland offers.

“Scotland’s construction industry has a pivotal national role to play, shaping the future of our diverse built environment, improving place-making and the lives of our citizens who use them,” he said. “We are a major contributor to our national economy with a total gross value added (GVA) of 6.1% to the UK economy (a wider 10-15% when considering offsite activities such as design, consultancy services and manufacturing of construction products etc) which equates to about circa £116bn annually.

“You could say our diverse 170,000 workers (10% of all Scottish jobs) and 45,000 related businesses punch well above their weight, with almost a multiplier of £1 spent on construction output equating to £3 generated in our economy. Construction also plays major part in securing Scotland’s international competitiveness through the export of innovative construction services and knowledge.

“Walking around our cities and towns, however, there is a noticeable lack of tower-cranes which would suggest either a declining pipeline or a shift in end market investment from vertical to horizontal infrastructure. Despite this visual lead indicator, and despite Brexit-related issues, it is forecast positively that construction in Scotland remains resilient and is expected to expand, albeit weighted towards new housing and infrastructure projects.”

Read the full blog at www.ciob.org/blog/seeing-success-construction-scotland