Barriers to Skills Development in a Local Construction Labour Market

Abstract

The literature on the construction industry suggests that the structure of labour markets in that industry sets up barriers to skills development. It is often suggested that ‘employer engagement’, leading to increased ‘buy-in’ into skills development, and investment by employers is the way to overcome these barriers. We present an example from a local labour market in South East England, with reference to an intervention in training (‘Constructing Futures’) that has brought private and public sector actors together. This example shows that employer engagement on its own is not sufficient to overcome the barriers created by the labour market structure. We suggest some essential measures to allow more workers to enter the industry and gain skills and reduce the skill shortages endemic to the industry in South East England.