Modern Methods of Construction can alleviate the construction sector’s skills shortage

Decent and affordable homes are fundamental to our wellbeing. There is widespread recognition that we face a critical housing shortage, with a combination of factors preventing us from deploying the skilled labour needed to replenish and expand our housing stock.

What is the source of the problem, and how can we fix it?

Here we discuss the challenges currently faced, and outline how MMC – and specifically timber frame construction methods – can help increase productivity, achieving more with less on site labour.

The skills and housing challenges we face

Research by the Civil Engineering Contractors Association found that three quarters of firms reported challenges with the supply of skilled labour ¹. Fixing this problem couldn’t be more urgent, given that we face a national housing crisis which government has pledged to tackle with more housebuilding.

So, what is causing the shortfall in vital construction skills?

A need to find home-grown solutions

Brexit has largely removed a source of labour on which the UK construction sector had grown very reliant. Perhaps for that reason, one survey found that just 15% of construction executives saw benefit in exiting the EU.² In any case, the challenge must lie in finding domestic sources of relevant, skilled labour.

An ageing workforce points to underlying problems

Research completed for the National House Building Council finds that over half of our construction workers are aged 45 or over³, with many likely to retire before much time has passed. Surveys consistently show young people do not see construction as an appealing sector. Unhelpfully, apprenticeships – vital in construction – are currently falling fast (down 31% in England since the 2017 introduction of the apprenticeship levy⁴).

On the positive side, sources agree on the solutions that can help. A report in PCB Today about attracting young people to the sector, for example, saw potential in using innovative technologies like BIM, engaging young people in schools and colleges, and offering more opportunities in apprenticeships and training.⁵ Widespread support exists for reform and expansion of apprenticeships, with great potential still present in a system with underlying strengths.

Women: under-represented in construction

Surveys from more than one country, including the UK, report that 99% of construction site workers are male. Women are so under-represented in the sector that their numbers can’t be measured accurately, said the Office of National Statistics (ONS) recently.⁶

This weakness does point to a great opportunity – a source of skilled labour for the sector that is present and available. The ONS findings centred primarily on the conclusion that women were more likely to be attracted to joining firms engaging in modern methods of construction (MMC), seeing reason for hope in the expectation that female participation will grow as MMC expands. It also urged action in areas such as inflexible working practices and the absence of suitable equipment, such as PPE more appropriate for women.

How can MMC help?

Finding more domestic talent, apprenticeships and attracting more women into the sector – these are all part of the solution. Even so, it may not be possible to replace all of those approaching retirement age.

What then is needed is a way to increase productivity – to do more with less, and MMC offers tremendous opportunity here also.

Is it possible to build four times as many homes with the same amount of on-site labour?

Yes, says the National Audit Office, in a report titled Using modern methods of construction to build homes more quickly and efficiently⁷. MMC aims to complete more of the needed work away from the construction site, with finalised units transported to the plot and quickly installed.

The traditional solution for providing structures with a load-bearing frame centres on masonry – concrete blocks and bricks put in place one by one by skilled bricklayers. That particular trade, incidentally, is perhaps the most challenged of all in terms of labour shortage, with sources reporting differing but sky-high pay, as desperate construction firms compete for the dwindling labour available.

The alternative is to use MMC, such as the timber frame solutions we offer at Merronbrook. You can read more about the many benefits of timber frame construction here.

A modern approach at Merronbrook

Projects are assessed individually at our state-of-the-art facility. Digital frame-assembly drawings are created and sent to workstations. Panels are cut precisely by our robotic saw and then checked and finalised by our expert team. Completed and individually-labelled panels are taken to site and assembled quickly.

The reduced programme of works enormously benefits our clients, and the modern way of working certainly bears no resemblance to the gloomy scenarios discussed above, with our young and engaged team of technical specialists completing each new challenge quickly and confidently. No wonder the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee told parliament that it must embrace MMC or risk missing its housebuilding targets.⁸

The UK faces a challenging housing crisis, but if we pull together and make full use of the newest and best solutions to old problems, we can transform our urban landscape, and put in place the foundations of a better tomorrow.

To speak to a specialist about your next construction project, please get in touch on 01252 844747 or via webenquiries@merronbrook.co.uk.

SOURCES:

1. https://www.ceca.co.uk/ceca-lack-of-skills-workers-holding-back-uk-infrastructure

2. https://www.cityam.com/uk-property-and-construction-sector-does-not-want-a-brexit-with-only-15-per-cent-saying-such-a-move-would-have-a-positive-impact-on-the-industry/

3. https://www.nhbc.co.uk/binaries/content/assets/nhbc/foundation/the-gender-and-age-profile-of-the-house-building-sector.pdf

4. https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/devolution-evolution-skills-policy/

5. https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/younger-generation/45108/

6. https://www.building.co.uk/comment/mmc-will-encourage-more-women-into-construction/5108626.article

7. https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20170207052351/https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2005/11/mmces.pdf

8. https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/17/housing-communities-and-local-government-committee/news/104443/government-must-embrace-modern-methods-of-construction-or-risk-missing-300000-homebuilding-target/