BUILDERS in Huddersfield have been urged to maintain a commitment to training – and safeguard the industry’s workforce during the recession.
A report by sector skills council ConstructionSkills said building industry bosses in the Yorkshire region were set to recruit only 1,390 people a year between now and 2013.
However, it said employers must continue to invest in the existing workforce to ensure skills were retained when recession gives way to recovery.
The report said construction industry jobs were forecast to grow by only 1.3% over the next five years as weaker demand for private housing counteracted a rise in work on public sector schemes to build and improve roads, schools and social housing.
Steve Housden, adviser at ConstructionSkills in Yorkshire, said 2009 would be “challenging” for the industry, but added: “It is vital that we work with employers to maintain the standards set in the industry and encourage them to maintain their commitment to staff training to preserve the industry’s workforce.
“It is critical the industry focuses its efforts on retaining and reskilling workers currently in employment.
“A recession is not a time to decrease training levels. If that happens, the long term skills deficit will be severe.”
