subject: Working In Construction [print this page] There are a lot of benefits to working in construction. Recruitment opportunities, for example, are by no means concentrated in one single area of the country but (depending on your skills) you can find demand no matter where you are. The need for new buildings, new roads and new houses can vary depending on the region but it will never entirely disappear after all.
On a national level, construction is the biggest industry in the UK; more than 2 million people already work in the industry and there are easily over 700 different types of jobs within the sector. The health of the sector is intrinsically tied to the health of the economy meaning that there's an inherent demand for new workers, new jobs and new opportunities in the sector.
Another key benefit of construction is the wide variety of routes into the industry. Perhaps the most popular and time honoured method of entering the construction industry is through unskilled labour - working on construction sites in the most basic positions. Often these roles will provide you with the hands on experience to move up to what's known as "semi-skilled" work; bricklaying, plastering, fitting, etc.
Here is where the 'unskilled' entry pathway starts to take off and different opportunities become available - you could build up your skills in a particular area for specialist work, or you could develop your appeal to employers by building up a variety of skills. This will let you take a flexible approach to finding semi-skilled work.
However, ultimately to progress within construction, you need some form of accreditation. The most widespread form of this is the CSCS card, otherwise known as the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. The largest in the industry, this scheme covers 220 different job types in construction from trades and technical occupations to supervisory and management.
Ultimately these cards simply establish your qualifications to work in construction. Generally, this involves a health and safety test and some form of secondary level education; your specific set of skills will be added to the card to establish your qualifications as needed. Often employers will require you to have a valid CSCS card to work on their sites as it offers significant savings for site insurance.
Other routes into construction will likely involve some form of accreditation from the very beginning. Those leaving school and college who are interested in entering the industry will often take up apprenticeships with employers - learning, working and earning at the same time. You'll qualify for an appropriate card scheme for your skill set as well as build a valuable body of experience for future work, all whilst being paid.
There's also the graduate route - which doesn't necessarily mean the traditional school-college-university route. Many people who work in construction return to university to gain the very highest levels of certification in areas like engineering, architecture or quantity surveying. These courses are often eligible for scholarships or bursary funding and those who graduate are in high demand throughout the industry.
