Career progression in the construction industry 2016 December 2016
Study prepared by BMG Research from a commission by CITB. The views expressed by research participants are their own and do not necessarily represent those of their employers. Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) 2016 Copyright and all other intellectual property subsisting in these materials vest absolutely in CITB and should not be copied, reproduced nor passed to any third party without the prior written agreement of CITB. Research materials are created using data and information provided to CITB by third parties and as such CITB are not able to control or verify the accuracy of this data or information. Accordingly, CITB does not give any warranty about the accuracy or fitness for any particular purpose of these materials. Furthermore, these materials do not constitute advice and should not be used as the sole basis for any business decision and as such CITB shall not be liable for any decisions taken on the basis of the same You acknowledge that materials which use empirical data and/or statistical data and/or data modelling and/or forecasting techniques to provide indicative and/or predictive data cannot be taken as a guarantee of any particular result or outcome. Page 2 of 93
Authors: June Wiseman, Philip Roe and Emma Parry of BMG Research Page 3 of 93
Executive summary Purpose and context of the study The availability of career paths in an industry allows organisations to benefit from workers skills and experience gained at lower occupational levels when they advance to higher levels, and improves retention of people in companies and the industry. Talented young people are attracted into the industry, and then are motivated to perform well, by the prospect of advancement. CITB has, thus, encouraged the development of stronger career paths in the construction industry as part of its efforts to professionalise the industry s approach to workforce recruitment and development and to improve the industry s status and image. To inform these efforts, CITB has undertaken research studies of career progression in the industry, first in 2012 and now, as reported here, in 2016. The aims of this 2016 study mainly replicate those of the 2012 research: To examine how people in the industry progress and what they mean by progression. To identify the factors, particularly education, training, and qualifications, which lead to or inhibit progression. And to differentiate progression routes and their contributory factors by different industry occupations. In addition, this research, by maintaining comparison with the 2012 study, allows observation of whether industry progression and attitudes to progression have changed in the intervening period. Method of study The study is based on three main inputs: A telephone survey of 450 people working in the industry. A telephone survey of 200 industry employers. Qualitative research with small samples of industry federations, employers, training providers, women working in the construction sector, and trainees. The individual perspective on progression Initial education and entry destinations Findings of the survey of 450 individual industry workers show: Only a moderate proportion (58%) of industry workers obtained qualifications at the end of their compulsory education at age 15 or 16. However, the proportion is higher for more recent industry entrants. For example, 74% of industry workers aged 25 or under obtained qualifications at age 16. At age 15 or 16, the initial destination of industry workers was most often into employment (by 42%), into apprenticeship (26%), FE College (15%), 6th Form (11%) Page 1 of 93
or other (7%). However, the pattern is changing, with younger workers less likely to have entered directly into employment or apprenticeship and more likely to have had a period of post-16 education. Initial qualifications and entry routes were related to eventual occupational status for example, those entering without qualifications at age 16 are more likely to be in manual occupations and those entering via post-16 education, including graduate entrants, are more likely to be in managerial or professional occupations. However, the research also shows that those relationships are not wholly deterministic. Many workers now in managerial, professional or technical occupations entered with no or minimal qualifications and initially worked in manual jobs in the industry. Working lives in the industry The research shows that: 74% of respondents first jobs were in industry, the remaining 26% having worked in other industries first (most often in manufacturing). 64% of those who worked first in other industries had done so for 4 or more years. 73% of industry entrants initially worked as employees, 27% entering on selfemployed terms. However, subsequent movement into self-employment was frequent. Only 26% of respondents had worked in the industry only as an employee and, by the time of survey, 50% of respondents were self-employed. Since first entering the industry, 22% of current workers had spent a period of employment outside of the construction industry. Many respondents had worked in the industry for long periods only 6% had worked in the industry for less than 5 years and 41% had been in construction for 26 or more years. Whilst in employment, most employed workers had had few different employers 4 in 10 had had only 1 or 2 and 7 in 10 had had 5 or fewer. Over a third of industry workers (36%) had never had a period of unemployment lasting 4 weeks or more. Of those who had such periods, more than half (54%) had experienced only 1 or 2. Only 4% of the sample had had more than 10 spells of unemployment lasting 4 weeks or more. In-service education and training A key factor enabling progression (particularly where people enter the industry without qualifications) is the acquisition of skills and knowledge via in-service training. The survey shows that 85% of industry workers had experienced training or development of various kinds subsequent to entering the industry, often on numerous occasions two-thirds of respondents who had undergone training had had 3 or more episodes of training. Employers and individuals were both likely to instigate training but training was funded by employers over twice as frequently (in 50% of cases) as by individuals themselves (in 21% of cases). Page 2 of 93
Career progression in the construction industry The survey of individuals shows that: A majority of industry workers (66%) first thought about entering the industry whilst at primary or secondary school. The main motivations for deciding to work in the industry were having family or friends in the industry (31%), the prospect of good earnings (20%), and the suitability of the work (21%). A majority of entrants (58%) saw construction as a career choice compared with 34% who saw it just as a job. A majority of workers entered at craft/semi-skilled level (36%) or as unskilled workers (39%). Since entering the industry, in objective terms, 32% of respondents have remained at the same broad occupational level, 4% have regressed to a lower level, but 64% have progressed to a higher level. In subjective terms, progression is even stronger 77% of respondents believed they had progressed. Most respondents, 88%, were very (56%) or quite (32%) satisfied with their career progress and 71% were very (23%) or quite (48%) satisfied with their current earnings. Key factors which were important to industry workers included interest in the work itself (91%), having independence in what work is taken on and how it s done (86%) and having family-friendly working hours (81%). Majorities of industry workers see having had previous industry experience, formal training, and qualifications in that order as important to getting jobs and to performing in their present job. Overall, majorities of over 80% of workers in all the main occupational groups in the industry are satisfied to be working in the industry. Over a third of workers (36%) actively want to advance in the industry and over 6 out of 10 of these people recognise that more training and qualifications will be necessary to achieve this. Two-thirds of respondents (63%) think the industry is a very good (35%) or quite good (28%) environment for progression compared with 15% who think it is poor. Qualitative research with individuals To provide some focussed information on the views of the particular groups in the industry, a focus group with construction apprentices and four depth interviews with women workers in the industry were held. The apprentices revealed a somewhat shallow view of their position in the industry strongly motivated by the prospect of high earnings at an early age and with no clear perspective on career progression. The women workers had a much more mature attitude and were strongly motivated by the industry s capacity to offer a sense of achievement of practical and visible results. They had experienced some casual discrimination which led them to believe that they had to out-perform men in similar Page 3 of 93
occupations to achieve recognition but also tended to believe that negative stereotypical views held by men in the industry were becoming less frequent and, hence, that recruitment and progression of women should, in future, face fewer barriers. The employer perspective on progression Substantial majorities of employers saw possession of qualifications as advantageous for job applicants for craft, supervisor, professional/technical, and managerial jobs but not necessarily advantageous for semi-skilled and unskilled jobs. However, qualifications were not regarded as essential in the majority of cases. Even for professional/technical jobs, qualifications were regarded as essential only by 46% of employers. Having undergone formal training and, particularly, having previous relevant experience were regarded by employers as more significant than qualifications when recruiting but, again, these were less frequently seen as important when recruiting at lower skill levels. Following recruitment, around 4 out of 10 employers reported that their firms had progression opportunities for their staff and virtually all of these reported that they deliberately developed staff, formally so in three-quarters of cases, to take advantage of promotion opportunities. Looking at external progression opportunities, 1 in 6 firms (15%) reported that one or more staff members had left in the last 2 years to take up a higher level job. If the firms from which no-one had left in the last 2 years (58% of all firms in the survey) are excluded, then over a third of firms (36%) where someone had left had had one or more people leave in order to achieve a promotion. Professional and technical employees were identified by employers as being the most frequently ambitious group of staff. Generally, employers saw having obtained the right experience in the industry as the strongest factor enabling progression but possession of relevant qualifications was not far behind in terms of importance in this respect. Most businesses (79%) which had had apprentices were broadly satisfied with the period of time which apprentices had spent with the company after completing their apprenticeship but there was some minority discontent (16% of employers reported that their apprentices had left too soon). A small majority of employers (51%) thought that the industry had improved its ability to offer better career paths to young people coming into the industry whilst 49% said it had not or were uncertain. Firms employing at least 6 staff were also asked if their own firm had acted to improve its ability to offer career paths to younger people. In this case, 64% of firms said they had done so this proportion rising to 90% for firms employing 50 or more people. Looking to the future, 88% of firms believed the industry should do more to improve its career paths. In in-depth interviews with employers, some barriers to progression were identified. These included: employers not wanting to promote because it leaves gaps at lower levels in the workforce; difficulty moving people between specialist areas of the industry; shortages of funding for training; and industry failure to value qualifications and training. However, one respondent believed that the industry has become more positive about training and progression in recent years and that a positive trend in these factors can be seen. Page 4 of 93
Training provider and industry federation perspectives on progression Training providers and industry federations also identified barriers to progression. These included: the preponderance of small firms in the sector; short career paths, often extending only from employment to self-employment; a view that many workers were earnings-oriented rather than career-minded; industry aversion to investment in training, particularly at smallfirm level; and a view that the industry s staff intake often did not have the attitudes or qualifications which support an aspirational culture. There were mixed views as to whether the industry has adequate career paths but one clear strand of opinion was that, even if these paths are imperfect, they have improved in recent years. In order to secure further improvement, these respondents proposals were that efforts to present the industry positively to potential entrants, including more work with sources of careers advice, should be continued and extended; and that career planning and advice should be made more consistently available to young entrants at an early stage of their initial training and employment. Progression in 2012 and 2016 compared Comparison of the findings described above, from individual worker and employer surveys, with findings from a similar survey in 2012 reinforce the positive outcomes of the 2016 survey in that 2016 findings are not just (mainly) positive in themselves but are more positive than was the case in 2012. Thus: Higher proportions of workers reported objective and subjective progression. Job satisfaction, already high in 2012, was higher in 2016. More workers were satisfied with their career progression and earnings than in 2012. More workers now recognise the importance of training and qualifications in getting and performing work and more saw their absence as barriers to progression. More employers reported that they had progression opportunities for their staff, that they preferred internal promotion to fill higher level posts, and that they developed their staff by varied means in order that they could progress. Employer responses also suggest that, with increased market buoyancy, worker movement between firms and into self-employment and business formation has accelerated; with, particularly, a substantial increase in the proportion of employees who are able to leave firms to obtain a higher level job elsewhere. Conclusion Thus, the study s overall conclusion is that the industry is developing a stronger environment for career progression and, particularly, that there is now greater recognition that formal certificated training is an important contribution to this change. CITB and the industry in general has a stronger base as an industry which is improving its ability to offer progressive careers on which, first, to attract the greater number of talented entrants on whom the efficiency of the industry depends and, second, to then develop those people into the managers and leaders who will drive the industry s innovation and growth. Page 5 of 93
Introduction Purpose and context of the study Career progression benefits most industries: Workers with skills and experience gained at lower occupational levels can meet businesses needs for skills at higher levels. The prospect of career progression motivates staff. For businesses where career progression opportunities are strong, staff retention is more likely. And businesses with career progression opportunities are more likely to attract talented and aspirational young people. The construction industry is not traditionally one in which career paths have been easy to develop. High numbers of small firms and self-employed workers in the sector do not supply the hierarchy of occupational grades which large organisations offer. Additionally, the industry has a large volume of its workers employed in mid-range occupations, as skilled trades people, with restricted numbers of occupations at the technical, professional, and managerial levels to which people in lower occupations might aspire and, although these latter numbers are increasing, lower grade workers face competition for higher level jobs from graduate entrants. The situation which is thus briefly described is complicated by the fact that, for many workers, middle range construction occupations, those in skilled trades, and selfemployment, may offer greater job satisfaction and sometimes higher earnings than industry jobs which are nominally at a higher level. Essentially, objective progression movement up formal occupational ladders is not necessarily the same as subjective progression which may involve movement only into a job which is enjoyed and which pays well but which does not have a high-status job title. CITB, as part of its work to professionalise the industry by raising its skill levels at all occupational grades and to make the industry more attractive to talented young people has, over recent years, sought to encourage the industry to adopt a more thoughtful approach to its career opportunities and structures. For example, by encouraging in-service training and accreditation of workers skills and by showcasing the industry to prospective entrants as one which, despite its image, utilises high levels of technical and professional skills at responsible occupational levels and that these occupational levels can be attained by progressive upward career movement. To place this work on a well-informed footing, CITB commissioned research 1 in 2012 to investigate the nature and scale of progression in the construction industry. With the elapse of four years, further research, reported in this document, was commissioned to update that study. The aims of this 2016 study essentially replicate those of 2012: To examine how people in the industry progress and what they mean by progression. 1 Career and Training Progression Routes in the Construction Industry, Final Report, CITB, 2012 Page 6 of 93
To identify the factors, particularly education, training, and qualifications, which lead to or inhibit progression. And to differentiate progression routes and their contributory factors by different industry occupations. In addition, this research, by maintaining comparison with the 2012 study in many respects, allows observation of whether industry progression and attitudes to progression have changed in the intervening period. Method of study The study is based on three main inputs: A telephone survey of 450 people working in the industry. A telephone survey of 200 industry employers. Qualitative research with small samples of industry federations, employers, training providers, women working in the construction sector, and trainees. Survey of industry workers The 450 industry workers in this survey, which took place in the summer of 2016, included 444 men and 6 women. In terms of age, 19 respondents (4%) were aged 24 or under, 101 (22%) were aged between 25 and 34, 93 (21%) were aged between 35 and 44, 135 (30%) were aged between 45 and 54, and 100 (23%) were aged 55 or over. 408 respondents (91%) were in white ethnic groups, whilst 42 (9%) were in a mix of other ethnic groups. Occupationally, respondents covered the spectrum of occupational levels: managerial (24% of the sample); professional (23%); technical (6%); supervisory (14%); craft and semi-skilled (24%); and unskilled or labouring (8%). Respondents took part in telephone interviews of an average 20 minutes duration. Key themes of the interviews, explored through mainly structured (pre-coded) questions, were: Respondents full-time initial education and the qualifications obtained in that stage of their lives. Respondents first employment on completion of initial education. Their employment in and out of the construction industry since that first employment. The nature and outputs of any in-service training and education (post their full-time initial education). The factors which led respondents towards employment in the construction industry. The objective career progression which they have achieved and their subjective feelings about their progression. The factors which have assisted or hindered progression. Their future ambitions. Survey of industry employers The 200 employers who took part in this telephone survey, also undertaken in the summer of 2016, included 101 employers (51% of respondents) who employed between 2 and 9 Page 7 of 93
employees, 45 employers (10%) with between 10 and 49 employees, 22 employers (5%) with between 50 and 99 employees, and 32 employers (7%) with 100 or more employees. The 200 employers were distributed across England (167 respondents, 84% of the sample), Scotland (17, 4%), Wales (8, 2%), and Northern Ireland (8, 2%). Within England, regional samples ranged between 5 cases in the North East and 37 cases in London. The main industry sub-sectors were represented as: construction of buildings: SIC41 (51 respondents, 26% of the sample); civil engineering: SIC42 (23, 12%); specialised construction activities: SIC43 (72, 36%); architectural and engineering activities: SIC71 (47, 24%); and other professional and technical activities : SIC74 (7, 3%). Eighty percent of respondents represented single site businesses. Twenty percent represented multi-site businesses, most of these (80%) being larger businesses employing 50 or more staff. Telephone interviews based around a mainly structured questionnaire lasted an average of 15 to 20 minutes. The main themes of the interviews concerned: The qualifications which respondent managers expected or preferred job applicants to hold. The perceived importance of previous work experience and previous formal training in recruitment. The businesses recent training activity and use of the apprenticeship programme. Company activity to assist employees development and progression and barriers to such activity. Staff retention and staff motivations for leaving. General perceptions of the construction industry s attitudes to staff development and progression. Qualitative research inputs Qualitative research inputs comprise: 5 depth interviews with industry employers. 14 depth interviews with training providers supplying construction courses. 5 depth interviews with industry federations. 4 depth interviews with women working in construction. A focus group with eight Level 2 and 3 apprentices in construction skills. In each case, discussions lasted around 30 to 45 minutes. The discussions were less structured than interviews in the telephone surveys and allowed more time for respondents to describe their experiences, aspirations, and views in their own words. Thus, the discussions were built around topic guides which covered the same broad themes (as appropriate to each particular group of respondents) as survey interviews but these asked open questions and recorded verbatim answers rather than confining responses (as in the surveys) to pre-coded choices. Page 8 of 93
Report structure The report has further chapters: Chapter 2 mainly reports findings from the survey of industry workers on progression issues. However, the chapter also reports the more detailed observations of industry apprentices and of women in the industry drawing on the qualitative research. Chapter 3 reports findings both from the survey of employers and from the depth interviews with employers. Chapter 4 reports the observations of industry training providers and industry federations on the characteristics of industry progression and on the challenges which the industry faces in seeking to improve career paths for young people. Chapter 5 is a comparative chapter which sets findings from this 2016 research against those of the similar study in 2012. It seeks to discern how and where the progression picture has changed in that period. Chapter 6 is an overview and conclusions chapter which reflects on key messages from the study as a whole. Page 9 of 93
The individual perspective on progression Initial education and early destinations Results from the survey of 450 industry workers which form the basis of most of this chapter, shows that at age 16, the GCSE (or O Level for old respondents) examination stage, 58% of respondents had obtained qualifications. Having obtained qualifications at this age was much more likely for younger respondents, reflecting changes in the education system over many decades. For example, only 38% of respondents aged 60 or over had obtained qualifications at the end of their compulsory education, whilst 74% of those industry workers in the survey aged 25 or under had done so. Getting qualifications at this stage was also strongly related, as would be expected, to subsequently getting qualifications at higher levels. For example, 32% of those who got qualifications at the GCSE/ O Level stage later gained a qualification at Level 4 or above compared with the 15% of those who did not get qualifications at the early stage who eventually advanced to this level. And, correspondingly, getting these early qualifications had an impact on subsequent progression into senior occupations: Figure 1: Proportions of industry workers now at different occupational levels who did or did not obtain qualifications at age 15/16; percentages Obtained qualifications Did not obtain qualifications Managers Professional 32% 31% 68% 69% Technical 38% 62% Supervisory Craft or semi-skilled 43% 46% 54% 57% Unskilled/labouring 36% 64% Base: 450 respondents in 2016 survey of individual workers At this initial stage, around 10% of respondents had gained a vocational qualification either in addition to, or in the absence of, GCSEs/ O Levels. However, only 28 respondents, 6% of the sample, obtained a vocational qualification at this stage which was related to the construction sector. Essentially, entry to the industry at or after the end of compulsory education was not, to any great degree, preceded by vocational preparation in compulsory education to age 15 or 16. Page 10 of 93
Following initial education to 15 or 16, the greater proportion of current industry workers entered directly into employment: Figure 2: Destinations of industry workers at the end of compulsory education; percentages Went into work 42% Apprenticeship 26% FE College 15% Sixth-form 11% Self-employment 3% Other 4% Base: 450 respondents in 2016 survey of individual workers The likelihood of following these routes varies with the current age of respondents: Direct entry to work is less frequent for younger respondents for example, 60% of 55 to 59 year old respondents went into work at age 15/16 compared with 31% of 20 to 24 year old respondents. Thirty-eight percent of respondents aged 60 or more entered the industry via an apprenticeship compared with 13% of 20 to 24 year old respondents. Thirty-one percent of 20 to 24 year old respondents had entered a sixth-form compared with only 4% of 55 to 59 year old respondents. Some initial routes at age 15 or 16 were also predictive of the current occupational status of industry workers. As Table 1 (following) shows, direct entry to work was particularly likely to presage eventual employment at supervisory, craft, semi-skilled and unskilled levels. Going on to 6th Form or FE College was more likely for those now in managerial or professional jobs. Having undertaken an apprenticeship was, however, not strongly predictive of occupational grades with, for example, more managers and technical than craft level workers having undertaken an apprenticeship whilst similar proportions both of professional and unskilled workers had done so: Page 11 of 93
Table 1: Percentages of industry workers now at different occupational levels whose first destinations were in each of several groups Managerial (111) Professional (104) Technical (29) Supervisory (83) Craft/ semiskilled (107) Unskilled (36) All (450) 6 th Form 15 15 3 5 9 6 11 FE College 13 23 10 17 12 11 15 Work 30 38 31 54 50 50 42 Apprenticeship 38 19 41 21 20 22 26 Other inc. selfemployment 5 4 13 4 9 11 7 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bases: in brackets Overall, survey data on industry workers early education and destinations; at age 15 or 16 shows that, with changes in the public education system over a long period, the proportion of workers in the industry with formal qualifications is likely to rise as older workers who entered without qualifications retire. The data also shows, as would be expected, the interplay between getting initial qualifications, the likelihood of subsequently getting higher level qualifications, and current occupational level. However, it is also notable that while these relationships are evident, they are not dominant such, for example, that all workers with higher level qualifications also got qualifications at 15 or 16 or that all workers now in higher level occupations in the industry entered via particular routes at age 15 or 16. The relationships are much less determinist than that. This fluidity is considered in more detail by further examination in following sections of the trajectories of industry workers beyond the initial stage. The 6 th Form route Most of the people who pursued their education in the 6th Form (11% of the sample) got further qualifications from this period of education 80% did so. Most of these qualifications, in 72% of cases, were A Levels, with 72% of those gaining A Level passes gaining at least 3 subject passes. In the remaining cases, respondents had studied vocational or other qualifications but, as at the GCSE/ O Level stage, few of these were directly related to construction work in total only 4 out of the 49 respondents in the sample who had taken the 6th Form route achieved a construction-related vocational qualification at this stage. The majority of those who took the A Level route (69%) are now in managerial, professional, or technical jobs, 27% are in supervisory or craft occupations, and only 4% are in unskilled or labouring occupations. Following 6th Form, the most frequent destination, for 41% of those respondents, was university. A further 22% went into work, 18% went on to FE College, 10% entered an apprenticeship, and 8% followed other destinations. Page 12 of 93
The Further Education (FE) route Of the 15% of respondents who went on to FE College at 15 or 16 years, 82% obtained qualifications from that experience. Of those achieving qualifications, 10% achieved A Levels or further GCSEs, 72% achieved vocational qualifications, and 18% achieved other qualifications. Of those achieving vocational qualifications, 79% achieved qualifications in constructionrelated subjects most frequently bricklaying, wood skills, plumbing and heating, and electrical work. The qualifications themselves mainly comprised NVQs, City and Guilds, and BTECs, predominantly at Levels 2 and 3. Subsequently, following their FE experience, 12% of learners went on to university, 59% went into work, 15% entered an apprenticeship, 4% became self-employed, and 10% had other destinations. The apprenticeship route Twenty-six per cent of respondents had taken an apprenticeship route directly after leaving school at 15 or 162. Of these, 30% reported undertaking a government apprenticeship, 63% reported undertaking a company apprenticeship, and 7% were unsure. Around 7 out of 10 of those people reporting undertaking a company apprenticeship were people aged 45 or over and had undertaken their apprenticeships before government funding of apprenticeships was initiated. Most apprenticeships (84%) had been in construction and most (86%) had been completed successfully. Eighty-four per cent of apprentices had achieved a qualification from their apprenticeship. Most of the apprentices who achieved a qualification, reported that they had obtained a City and Guilds or comparable qualification. This was particularly likely if the respondent was aged 45 or older. Nineteen per cent reported obtaining an NVQ or SVQ at Level 2, 23% at Level 3, and 2% at Level 4. These respondents were predominantly younger respondents aged under 45. Of the apprentices who had undertaken a Level 2 apprenticeship, 32% had progressed to a Level 3 apprenticeship (68% had not). Following their apprenticeship, 67% had continued in employment, 17% became selfemployed, 7% went to FE College, 2% went to university, and 7% followed other destinations. Where apprentices had continued in employment, 57% continued in work with their apprenticeship employer, whilst the remainder, 43%, moved into other employment. Where apprentices had stayed with their apprenticeship employer, the length of employment with that employer was frequently substantial: 25% had stayed more than 10 years. 27% had stayed between 5 and 10 years. 29% had stayed between 2 and 5 years. 2 Note: as above, an additional 5 respondents went into apprenticeship following 6 th form (10% of those following this route or 1% of the total sample) and an additional 15 respondents went into apprenticeship following Further Education (15% of those following this route or 3% of the total sample) Page 13 of 93
10% had stayed between 1 and 2 years. Only 8% had left within a year of completing their apprenticeship. Apprentices views of the industry and their progression within it As noted in the introduction, a focus group with 8 young construction apprentices was held in order to get qualitative information on the perspectives of young people at an early stage in their industry careers. Some apprentices first reflected on their school experiences, which had often not been supportive of entry to construction, whilst other apprentices were dismissive of the value of academic qualifications, for example: When I was at school nobody mentioned the construction industry. Everyone thinks it s for thick people that have got no qualifications. Well, they never even train you in any sort of construction while you re in school, really. Half the stuff we learn in school these days you ll never use anywhere in the world unless you re stuck in an office. I did resistant materials at school. That was quite good, working with metal and wood. But everyone is pushed just to go to university, nobody ever says go into construction. There should be more work experience in school. All you get is two weeks. I don t think that you should get to sixteen and then be asked what you want to do. You can t talk about construction because you don t know about it, do you? They push you to get qualifications and go to university but I know people who passed their A-levels and still couldn t get a job. Entry to the construction industry did not, for these apprentices at least, follow a consistent or particularly well-structured path: I went through an agency. They offered me a full-time job and then started me on the apprenticeship. They were looking for labourers, and I just happened to get lucky, really. It was getting a trade behind me and a fulltime job. I knew my boss from the pub. My boss just went to me and said why don t you come and have a look. I started watching them do it and stuff and then I just stuck with that and got put on the apprenticeship. I liked it. It was working outdoors, doing something practical, hands-on, physical. The apprenticeship is good to have. Something to fall back on. To be fair, it s the first thing my employer said to me. I could do the apprenticeship. They offered to buy me a load of tools and review my pay as I progress through it. They made that pretty clear from the start, so that was quite a good incentive. Page 14 of 93
Discussing their working lives immediately after apprenticeships, focus group members often had an expectation of early entry into self-employment: That s what they aim for you to do, to become a subcontractor to them. They take you on the books for two years. They probably keep you on the course for about four years, so you gain your experience, and then you come off the books and become a subcontractor to that company. I d probably work for them for a couple of years. I wouldn t just leave straightaway. I ll be there for a couple of years first, and then I ll probably start my own company. Asked about the value of qualifications, these apprentices had little clarity about this and mainly did not articulate any strong interest in formal accreditation. Two focus group members saw qualifications as largely linked to practical work: They say once you re qualified you could go and do this, but nothing concrete as a result. Once you re with an employer and they send you to college to do an NVQ to tick off what you can do, that s all they really want you to do. This qualification we re doing on apprenticeship, it s only experience, really. You can have your qualification and be a terrible roofer. You don t need qualifications to be a good roofer. You just need to pass the test and then you learn everything on the job anyway. Only one member expressed any particular interest in obtaining further qualifications: I d like to learn business management. I d like to get another A-level, this one in business management, or going and doing some training full-time. One member of the group was dismissive of the value of qualifications in circumstances where recruitment was often informal: Qualifications are OK for certain jobs. If you ve got a good CV and you re applying for a big job, and there s 2,000 people applying for it, then yes, it can help. But I used to live in a very small town, and you found out it was the people who knew the bosses that would get the jobs, not the people who were more qualified. Discussing their general motivations for working in construction there was a clear focus on obtaining high wages, for example: Once I m making 1,000 a week I ll be happy. A good chunk of money. A good wage every week, there s just no better motivation to do anything, is there? Nobody wants to work all their life, do they? Make money quick and retire quick. Page 15 of 93
As long as you can get the work for a good lifestyle, then that s fair enough. It s all about the money. And there was also the attraction of flexibility, variety, and freedom: This gives you the option to work for yourself, so you can make as much money or as little money as you want, work whenever you want, whereas in other jobs you re just going to earn a wage for the rest of your life. I ve laid gas pipes. I ve worked on roadsides. I ve worked on the railway laying sleepers. It s all about variety. You can do as much or as little as you want, whereas if you work in Tesco you re on set hours. If you re in an office, though, you re always beholden to the person above you. There was little appreciation of longer term career development. One member of the group saw decisions about the long term as lying in the future: I genuinely don t have a clue what I want to do when I m older. I think it s doing things first, and then try and find it. You need to make your own mind up first, before you start looking into that. You might want something now but in a couple of years you won t want it. Another respondent did, however, recognise time limitations on physical work in the industry: When you re a young lad, it s good fun running up and down a roof. As you get older your body starts to hurt and starts to ache and starts to fail on you. You re meant to work until you re 70 years old now. I can t see me running up and down a roof at bloody 69 years old. So you d want to change your environment. Finally, one group member was particularly negative about the industry s attitudes to young people and its supportiveness of progression: Somebody touched on it earlier, with young people in the industry. They re not listened to. They re not given room to grow. They re held back. Site managers have got no respect for young men at all, even though you ve got the qualifications. You re not listened to at all. In summary, discussion with a group of young male apprentices, albeit not necessarily one which is representative of industry apprentices in general, showed some of the problems which career progression in construction faces: unsupportive school experiences, inconsistent and informal entry routes, valuation of experience over qualifications, earnings rather than progression as a key motivation, and little clarity amongst these young workers as to how their careers might develop, other than early transition into self-employment. Page 16 of 93
Progression to university Overall, 36 respondents, 8% of the sample, had progressed to university as the completion of their initial, pre-service education. Of these, 20 had progressed via a 6th Form, 9 had progressed via an FE college, and 7 had progressed via apprenticeship or mixed apprenticeship/fe routes. The great majority of these people (those progressing into university as part of their initial education) 72% were aged under 45, beneficiaries of the expansion of university education over recent decades. Of these 36 respondents, most (21 cases) gained a Bachelor degree, 7 gained a Diploma, 3 gained a Foundation degree, 4 gained a Master s degree, 2 gained Professional Institute membership, and 8 obtained other qualifications. Following university at this stage, 69% of respondents went into employment, 28% became self-employed, and 3% (1 case) had another, unspecified, destination. Summary: initial education and first destination The above statistics on the main routes taken by industry workers following compulsory education show the expected difference between an academic and a vocational route. Those who went into 6th Form mainly studied to A Level, not vocationally, and many went on to university. Those who went to FE College mainly studied vocationally in constructionrelated subjects as, of course, did those who undertook apprenticeships and then mostly went into employment. However, as with achievement of qualifications at age 15 or 16, these routes were not wholly clear cut some 6th Form students had undertaken vocational qualifications and some did not go to university, some FE students had undertaken academic qualifications and progressed to university, and a small proportion of apprentices went into full-time further education or to university following their apprenticeship. And, again as with achievement of qualifications at age 16 or 17, the post-16 routes are not wholly prescriptive of eventual occupational status in the industry. As the following figure shows, there are associations between the routes and occupational status but not, by any means, prefect correlation. For example, a higher proportion of industry managers entered the industry via university than by other routes and a higher proportion of craft and semiskilled workers entered directly after leaving school but no occupation is wholly closed to entry by people who followed any of the routes. Page 17 of 93
Figure 3: Percentages of those who took different routes at age 16 and onwards who are now at different occupational levels in the industry Work 6th Form FE Apprentice University Managers 18% 22% 35% 34% 42% Professional 21% 21% 30% 33% 35% Technical 5% 2% 4% 10% 11% Supervisory 5% 6% 10% 14% 18% Craft/semi-skilled 8% 20% 19% 20% 29% Unskilled/labouring 4% 6% 6% 3% 10% Base: 450 respondents in 2016 survey of individual workers The complexity of the relationship between eventual occupational status and the entry routes which industry workers took can be further appreciated in the following chart (Figure 4). It should be noted that, for simplicity, the chart excludes small numbers of respondents who reported other unspecified destinations and small numbers who took the more unusual rotes (such as going into apprenticeship following 6th Form or going to university following apprenticeship). The main point of the chart is that the non-prescriptive relationship between initial education, industry entry points, and eventual occupational status is again demonstrated such that, for example, it can be seen that significant proportions of respondents are now in managerial or professional jobs irrespective of their points of entry to the industry: Page 18 of 93
Figure 4: Education routes and occupational outcomes (Note: excludes small number of other destinations) Post GCSE 6 th Form 11% FE College 15% Apprenticeship 26% Employment 42% Post GCSE destination Uni 42% FE 18% Uni 12% App 15% FE 7% Second destination Employment 22% Employment or self-employment 63% Employment or self-employment 84% Employment 100% Employment as first or second destination Man 42% Prof 35% Tech 11% Super 5% Manual 11% Man 27% Prof 18% Tech 0% Super 18% Manual 36% Man 20% Prof 37% Tech 0% Super 17% Manual 26% Man 34% Prof 23% Tech 9% Super 11% Manual 22% Man 18% Prof 30% Tech 5% Super 18% Manual 37% Current occupational group Page 19 of 93
Working lives in the construction industry Following initial education, the majority of respondents were aged between 16 and 18 (46%) or between 19 and 24 (41%) when they first entered employment. A further 7% were aged under 16, primarily older respondents in the survey, and 5% were aged 25 and over. Three-quarters (74%) of respondents first jobs were in the industry, the remainder (26%) having first entered another sector including manufacturing (19% of those who initially worked in another sector), motor vehicle repair (10%), retail (16%), transport and logistics (7%) and the public sector (16%). Many of the people who did not enter the industry initially, did not begin working in construction for some years 46% initially worked outside construction for 7 or more years and 18% for between 4 and 6 years, with 36% entering the industry in their first 4 years of work. A longer period prior to entry was more likely for those now in higher level occupations than for manual workers. Most workers (73%) took up a job when they first entered the construction industry, but a sizeable minority (27%) entered on self-employed terms. Since they first worked in the construction sector, 22% of current industry workers have spent a period of employment out of the industry. Having done so was most likely for unskilled workers (36% had left the industry for a period) and for technical grades (34%). Spending time out of the industry was less likely for professional staff (24%), supervisory grades (12%), craft or semi-skilled workers (21%) and managers (14%). Overall, respondents in the sample had worked in the industry for long periods. Only 6% had worked in the industry for less than 5 years, 30% had been in the industry for between 5 and 15 years, 23% for between 26 and 35 years, and 18% for more than 35 years. There were few differences between occupational grades in this distribution except for unskilled labourers. In this case, only 14% had worked in the industry for more than 25 years compared with the average of 41%. Hypothetically, factors responsible for this difference may include the difficulty of physical labour for older workers, the relatively unattractive character of the work (in line with the high proportion, as above, who had spent time out of the industry), and the circumstance that many labourers may progress out of this grade. A very high proportion of industry workers had had periods of self-employment whilst working in the industry: 16% of workers had only worked on self-employed terms but a further 58% had been self-employed at some point in their career. Self-employment was particularly likely for craft and semi-skilled workers and was less likely than average amongst unskilled workers: Page 20 of 93
Table 2: Employment and self-employment in the industry by current occupational level; percentages Managerial (111) Professional (104) Technical (29) Supervisory (83) Craft/ semiskilled (107) Unskilled (36) All (450) Only been employed Only been selfemployed Been both employed and self-employed 33 26 31 19 14 50 26 11 19 14 17 19 17 16 56 55 55 63 67 33 58 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bases: in brackets Whilst in employment, around 4 in 10 respondents had had only 1 or 2 employers and around 7 in 10 had had 5 or fewer. Of course, the number of employers whom respondents had had rose according to the age of respondents but, even so, a quarter of respondents aged 60 or over had had only one or two employers and over half had had 5 or fewer. The likelihood of having had multiple employers, more than 10, was highest for craft and semiskilled workers and for unskilled workers: Table 3: Numbers of employers in their careers (excluding workers who had only been self-employed); percentages Managerial (111) Professional (104) Technical (29) Supervisory (83) Craft/ semiskilled (107) Unskilled (36) All (450) One only 25 23 8 23 22 30 23 2 26 17 16 21 13 7 18 3-5 32 33 40 31 30 33 32 6-10 9 14 24 12 11 13 12 11-20 3 5 4 8 8 3 5 21 or more 3 5 8 4 10 7 6 Not known 1 4 0 2 6 7 3 Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 Bases: in brackets Unemployment in the industry As well as employment, industry workers may, of course, have experienced spells of unemployment. Page 21 of 93
Respondents were asked if they had periods of unemployment which lasted 4 weeks or more and during which they were seeking work. Overall, 36% of respondents had experienced such periods whilst two-thirds, 64%, had not. The likelihood of such unemployment was higher for technical staff (48%), unskilled staff (44%), supervisory staff (40%), and craft or semi-skilled workers (39%) than for professional staff (36%) and, particularly, managers in the industry (23%). In most cases, 54%, respondents who had experienced such unemployment had experienced only 1 or 2 periods. A further 31% had experienced between 3 and 10 periods, and 10% had experienced 11 or more periods. In relation to all respondents, including those who had not experienced unemployment (of 4 weeks or greater duration), these frequently unemployed people (unemployed 11 or more times), 16 out of 450 cases in the industry, constituted less than 4% of the total sample. Further, for people who had been unemployed for periods of 4 weeks or more their longest period of unemployment was less than 3 months in a third of cases (34%) and was between 3 and 6 months for a further 4 in 10 cases (38%). Only a minority, 27% of those who had been unemployed or 9% of the whole sample, had experienced a period of unemployment which extended beyond 6 months. In-service training and education In previous sections it was observed that early education and routes into the industry were predictive of eventual occupational status but only moderately so. Individuals could secure higher level occupations without necessarily having initially obtained a particular level of qualifications or having pursued particular post-16 options. One factor which may enable this non-prescriptive relationship between early experiences and eventual occupational outcomes is in-service education and training. The survey investigated the extent to which respondents had undergone this experience: Page 22 of 93