I aim to identify and evaluate how the shortage of skilled labourers is affecting the construction industry as a whole. I will also be investigating the impact that the shortage of skilled labourers has implemented on the rest of the industry. As I believe that this shortage does not affect only the construction industry it affects the whole of the economy. I aim to do this firstly by identifying how the construction industry use to benefit from having skilled workers, how it has changed over the past decade and finally how the UK is working on ways and schemes to resolve this shortage and rebuild the industry as a whole.
Reasons for choosing this aim:
• I will achieve numerous amount of valuable information
• Huge amount of resources to gather data
• Will be able to gather data from individuals rather than just specialist
• This topic allows me to gather information from decades to date
• Clarify how the use of technology/ techniques has affected the way construction is built
• Identify how the shortage has affected UK economy
• How other countries economy has profited from the advantage of skilled labourers
• How schemes have been set up to retrain workers and train the youth to join the construction industry
• How the shortage of skilled workers is keeping Britain down
The construction industry plays a major role in the UK’s economy when it comes to the labourers they play a vital role in pushing and keeping our economy going. So when there is a shortfall in key labourers that we have in the industry this puts a major effect on the economy and throws us down. This has been also been stated by Kevin Green Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), whose members are “on the front line of the UK labour market.” “Last year we had nine areas of skills shortages, now we have 43 areas. Every single type of engineering is in short supply, from mechanical to software, civil to electrical,” says Mr Green, reported by Matthew Wall Business reporter, BBC News.
I have researched on my topic and found this article above which Kevin Green stated in about the shortages of skilled labourers which he has identified that nine areas have a shortage of skilled workers in the UK labourer market which has now raised to 43 this report was written by Matthew Wall. This shows that the statement which I am trying to make has also been backed by Kevin Green Chief Executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. The fact that this statement was given in an article does not allow me to give a judgement on whether or not this point has been debated for or against.
At this present moment in time the UK economy is catastrophically trying to recover from an economy crisis we are still failing and falling further into an economy crisis by the short fall in skills. This has been stated by Employers Organisation the CBI concurs, “Our most recent survey shows that skills shortages are becoming more acute, and risk acting as a break on our economic recovery,” says Rob Wall, the CBI’s head of employment and education, reported by Matthew Wall Business reporter, BBC News.
A shortage of skilled worker is also putting Britain down in the job market and also making Britain employ labourers from other countries. This is a serious problem has it is not benefitting the country in the long run as UK is has to invest in labourers.
This has also been stated in the Telegraph “The UK jobs market stagnated in June, fuelling fears of a major skills shortage that could limit the economy’s ability to grow and flourish. Hiring activity is being constrained by a lack of candidates, a new report on the UK labour market found, with the number of permanent positions filled by jobseekers slowing to the lowest rate for two years.
A country that has benefited on a vast scale with regards to its growing identity in construction by having skilled labourers is Luxembourg. This is a huge benefit to the country has it will not have to hire of invest in getting labourers rather it is making money by sending labourers to work in other countries. ”
Methodology
For my Research Project I have decided to use Qualitative Methodology, simply because qualitative methodology allows me to obtain necessary information using hand on methods such as questionnaires. This is because it is my understanding that questionnaire’s will allow me to firstly ask the right questions based on my report, as well as gather the information from the correct people with knowledge based on my report. In addition qualitative methodology allows me to be self-sufficient and make a trust worthy decision with the use of my personal knowledge within my report. Fundamentally a questionnaire is ideal as it allows me to simply put forward questions which I may require information upon in addition I have decided to use a questionnaire as it will allow me to as a wide span of individuals regardless of their age or gender, therefore I believe feedback which I will receive once the questionnaire have been handed out will be satisfactory as I have allowed for a significant age group span.
Stages of Qualitative Methodology
• Historical Research
• Ethnographic Research
• Narrative Research
I have chosen for my project that I will be using practical research this is because, I believe questionnaires are more practical which means I will be more involved in my research. Also I will be gaining the results first hand meaning by myself rather than others informing me about my results. Also I believe that more information can be put together in a short space of time by using questionnaires. As well by using questionnaire’s it will be a cost effective method so not much cost will occur by the use of this method. Also I think that by using this method I will be able to compare and contrast my research with other research methods.
It is necessary for my report to be successful that aims are set this is so I know what I want to achieve and gain for my report. Also I will have to have a set budget for my project so I do not over spend, and also I know where it is going to be spent before it is so I know my costs, and what it will cost me on transport if it is required for handing out and collecting my questionnaire’s, also on the printing of my questionnaire’s. Knowing how long it will take in handing out and collecting my data. Also knowing how long the whole of my report will take like time scale will help in making my report successful and things should not be rushed otherwise this can ruin my report. I believe that by knowing this all beforehand will make my report successful. Furthermore by sticking to my aims will help me stay on track.
Stages that I will use for my methodologies so that the data I get is correct for my report.
1. Planning and designing a questionnaire that will be to the point and with questions that are related to my report.
2. Data collection putting the data in graphs and making sure it is collected properly.
3. Data access so people can see the progress of my questionnaires.
4. Data preparation and management of my data is right.
5. Data analysis to make sure what I am collecting is correct and useful for my report.
6. Reporting and showing my data to the public which I have received.
For my report I will be using technology such as computers and tablets this is because I will be requiring the use of such technology to develop my questionnaires and
in order to collect and gather all of my data. I am hoping to use Microsoft excel in order create graphs which will help me to inspect and examine my findings. I will have to use a computer as my options are limited and there is no other way to design and develop questionnaires. If I was to design my questioners by hand this process will take a significant amount of time causing me to lose vital time where required, therefore I have taken the decision to use a computerized system to develop and design my questionnaires. Using Microsoft excel will also allow me to ensure that vital data is not only kept accurate as well as up to date. I will not be using, the use of smart phones for my project simply because smart phones are not really required for my project. Most of my research can be carried out with the use of other technology for example:
• Tablets
• Laptops
• Programs and Software’s
I am aiming to keep my questionnaire fairly simple and to the point in order to assure that precise feedback is received. However I will only be developing around 20-50 questionnaires as this amount will help me to ensure that my feedback is fair and not biased. My main reason for deciding to develop a questionnaire is the fact that I can go anywhere throughout the UK and hand my questionnaire out to 20-50 random people and receive feedback.
I believe that there will not be much cost in the way that I will be collecting data because it is mainly based on the help of the internet. But where I will require to give questionnaire there will be some cost occurred there but it will not be as pricey as I will just need to print the questionnaire’s and cost will arise there but I don’t think it will be particularly costly. The questionnaires I will give out by hand by walking myself and not by travelling to far places otherwise costs will rise making my research a slightly more expensive one. My data will be collected and put together on Microsoft spreadsheet this is already in college computers and on my laptop so I can do this easily myself without any hassle. This will also not be time consuming, simply because it is quick to create a spreadsheet or charts. I will be allowing myself plenty of time in order to gather and scan through all information collected, this is because I want to assure that I do not have a significant amount of time being wasted looking through information that is not even relevant to my research. This is why I believe allowing plenty of time to gather information enhances my chances of keeping my report understandable and relevant to the initial topic I have claimed to be covering.
Literature searching using electronic resources
I believe for me to achieve my aim and accomplish in explaining how much of a shortage in labourer there is in the UK will not be that hard this is because there is substantial amount of information which I can obtain to help me gain my goal. There are many sources which will help me acquire the information I need such as:
Types of literature which I can gain information form:
• EBooks
• Newspaper Articles
• Journal Article
• Reports/Intute.org useful to help find relevant articles
• Internet
• Books
• Questionnaires
• Word of mouth by experienced workers
• News papers
I believe my research will be fair and not just biased this is because I will be able to gain information from individuals and not just by the use of the internet and sources which can be sometimes biased. I will be able to achieve this by surveys which I can carry out and gather information, then I will tally this information up and see what people think about this shortage. The shortage of labour is not something which has suddenly risen up this has been going on from decades. I believe these electronic resources will help me gather a huge amount of information for my literature review. This is an easy way of gathering information as these sources which I am using I can gain information easily on the internet.
The UK is also trying to work its way up by training young people and also worker by the use of schemes to gain experience and to have skills for specific works so there are more labourers and labourers are not brought in from other countries. This will profit the UK in the long run as they will not have to hire labourers from other countries, and give them work permits so they can stay here.