Ever since I qualified as a Civil Engineer in 1996, there has been a constant stream of reports highlighting the skills shortage in the construction industry.
Finding suitably skilled staff remains a problem; construction work is forecast to grow over the next three years, with increased housebuilding, infrastructure projects, and repair and maintenance work.
A report from CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) last year showed that over 250,000 extra workers will be required to meet UK construction output by 2025. We are not going to solve this problem overnight, and judging by past trends, we may not solve it at all.
When we started Lynas Engineers in 2016, we knew we wanted to do things differently. Instead of just hiring for the here and now, we made a real commitment to investing in the future, bringing in local young people, supporting them through education, and giving them hands-on experience to grow into skilled engineers. More than anything, we wanted to build a team that felt valued and part of something bigger, not just another cog in the machine.
As we have grown, we have needed to find qualified, experienced engineers to deliver projects but, more importantly, to mentor and develop our apprentices and young engineers. Finding the right people to employ has been our biggest challenge over the last eight years, as the talent pool is so small due to a historic lack of investment.
Our apprenticeship programme is something we are immensely proud of. At present, five of our team of 15 are at various stages of their apprenticeships, and we have already seen two of them pass their degrees and qualify as Incorporated Engineers.
When I left school, a full-time university degree was the only real option to become a qualified engineer. I can’t imagine following that route now, given the amount of debt incurred over a three- or four-year course. An apprenticeship may take longer, but at the end of it, you have a degree, eight years of experience, no debt, and you’ve been paid. It’s a no-brainer.
This isn’t a quick fix, but we believe that by investing in training our future engineers, we are not only developing our people but also helping to solve a wider problem in a sustainable way.
Rob Lynas
