Future-proofing the workforce is fundamental to tackling the challenges facing the regeneration sector and the wider construction industry.
The regeneration sector is facing two major challenges. First, it needs to decarbonise; second, tens of thousands of properties are due for refurbishment, to ensure they continue to meet the Decent Homes Standard. Together, this is a huge undertaking.
When I talk to the supply chain and our housing association and local authority partners, there is a palpable sense of anxiousness, even concern, about the shortage of skilled workers needed to meet these challenges.
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The bottom line is that we do not yet have enough skilled people to deliver the work we need to do. This is our view in regeneration, and I know this experience is mirrored across other sectors within construction and beyond.
This systemic challenge is well understood, but so far, few plans have been put in place that can deliver the coordinated response we need to meet the skills crisis at scale.
The mayor of London and London Councils have, however, just launched a new plan focused on inclusive talent that looks set to make real strides towards delivering a larger and more skilled workforce.
This is an exciting moment for genuine collaboration, and a call to action to shape the city’s future workforce. But what does it mean for the construction supply chain?
A collaborative approach to developing skills
The Inclusive Talent Strategy is a plan to remove barriers to get more Londoners into high-quality jobs and to make it easier for employers to get the talent they need. It has been shaped to date through consultation with Londoners, employers and partners across health, employment support and the education system.
This strategy will see contractors and the supply chain co-design plans in collaboration with City Hall. The strategy is not only a push to improve the development of specialist skills, but also an opportunity for the supply chain to be involved in creating solutions that it knows will be deliverable and sustainable.
Construction and Built Environment Sector Talent Board
The mayor of London has committed to several important actions to deliver the focused aims of this skills strategy. The first action is key to those of us who work in construction and will support the establishment of an employer-led talent system. An integral part of this is the creation of a Construction and Built Environment Sector Talent Board, with supporting pan-London sector hubs driving delivery. These offer a genuine opportunity to influence the programme.
As an example, I am one of the members of the interim Construction and Built Environment Talent Board – a role I am proud to have been appointed to. The forum comprises businesses from across the construction sector. Its role is to start the early work of identifying the priority skills the supply chain needs now and, with City Hall, prepare for the permanent talent boards to take over next year. These permanent boards will then develop the models and programmes that will help grow the workforce.
For us at Durkan Regen, we are already working closely with our public sector partners to develop the skills our sector needs. The talent board gives members the opportunity, in a collaborative forum, to build on what we know works and scale it across London.
Similarly, the sector hubs – also co-coordinated with the supply chain – will manage activity by sector and place, in line with the plans created by the talent board.
I’ve highlighted this action point because it demonstrates the strategy’s focus on close working with the supply chain – and that’s where we, as contractors and the supply chain, can have a real impact.
What does it mean for the supply chain?
City Hall has, in my view, rightly identified that the skills crisis can only be solved through collaboration.
In this spirit, there are opportunities to play a part now. For example, grant funding is available to organisations that can administer a sector talent board or establish and lead a sector hub.
Beyond this, and with the strategy now launched, the real work begins. City Hall and the interim and permanent Construction and Built Environment Talent Boards will now shape programmes, resources and tools that the supply chain can use to improve training outcomes and build more reliable routes to jobs.
My message to contractors and the supply chain, as a member of an interim talent board, is therefore: get involved and keep up to date on our progress. This is not a passive process. Success depends on the active involvement of the supply chain because you understand, better than anyone, where the bottlenecks lie.
Find more information about the Inclusive Talent Strategy here.
Kevin O’Connor is head of social value at Durkan Regen.
