Developing future talent is key to tackling the skills shortage

A recent report by the Construction Industry Training Board has stated that an additional 217,000 construction workers will be needed by 2025 to meet demand. One of the main ways of addressing this is by focusing on the new generation of engineers and the development of future talent.

A recent report by the Construction Industry Training Board has stated that an additional 217,000 construction workers will be needed by 2025 to meet demand. In terms of annual average recruitment, this equates to 5150 construction professionals and technical staff. One of the main ways of addressing this is by focusing on the new generation of engineers and the development of future talent.

Whilst as an industry this has been a key business focus, it is no secret that the global pandemic has had an impact on student and apprentice recruitment in 2020. However, Tony Gee decided to focus on the long term growth of the business to ensure its talent pipeline is as strong as ever. Gareth Drought, HR Director comments “Development in our future talent has and will always be a key focus at Tony Gee. Back in March last year, we took a pragmatic approach to continue to invest in the future rather than considering the short term outlook. We were in the fortunate position to continue to bring new undergraduates into the business who will be benefiting from real-world design experience during the Summer.

In addition to that we did not take our foot off the gas in the apprenticeship space. Quite the contrary taking on apprentices across the business in Civil Engineering at level 3 and 6 and in Digital and Technology Solutions at level 6; vital for the continuing journey into embracing technology to enhance process and optimising design.”

Tony Gee has also been able to support the industry with the development of new apprenticeships through the Technical Apprenticeship Consortium. The company has taken an active role in the initiative since its inception, which Gareth the current Chair, and has provided them with a platform to share our knowledge to other consultants. Gareth comments “Our work with the Technical Apprenticeship Consortium has allowed us to understand the offerings available and to share best practice with other consultancies to enhance our mentoring capacity and understanding of how to bring the best out of our students and apprentices whilst allowing them to grow into their chosen careers. It is a very exciting time for early career professionals in consultancy.”