You could say the start of 2015 and the construction industry did not exactly hit it off with one another! In fact, it was more a case of donning hard hats and pulling angry faces at forty paces, as the sector across the UK experienced an unexpected turn.
After a resurgent 2014, construction across Britain had looked set to continue its unprecedented growth into the New Year and beyond. However, output dropped by 2.6% in January, prompting fears of a slowdown in the creation of jobs and the recovery of the economy.
As part of this horror story, house building throughout the country dropped by a super-scary 5% – that’s the sharpest fall since February last year.
All of this shockfest came after some economists had been predicting a 1.2% rise across the construction sector for the month.
Well, fear not! Against the odds – and recently they’ve been stacked higher than the red herrings in Fortitude – there is still room for optimism. At least there is here in Scotland.
Last month we saw the announcement from those good folks in Holyrood that the Government would be investing lucre to the tune of no less than £7 billion in new construction projects across the country. This will be spread across 70 projects – and with it should come the generation of a raft of new jobs.
It’s all part of the Scottish Government’s Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP). As part of the IIP, a progress and planning report is issued bi-annually giving progress on the projects detailed in the IIP, all the way into 2030. Yawn! Don’t worry is not all as boring as it sounds.
Consider the figures: between 2014/15 and 2015/16 overall investment will actually exceed £8 billion.
Projects include the A90 Western Route near Aberdeen and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Scotland’s construction sector has also seen increases in the salaries of professionals, and massive increases for architects. Construction bosses have already laid the foundations for more staff, and wage rises across the sector mean that construction has never quite seemed so lucrative.
Across the UK, initiatives such as Innovate UK’s Low Impact Buildings Innovation Platform are investing in construction. As part of this, £60 million will be invested in new construction projects over the next five years. This is part of a carbon emission reduction strategy, so eco-friendly builds can be promoted.
Yes, the construction sector may have dropped its grades in January, but don’t let the C-minus hiccup mislead. Plenty of work is being done to construct a brighter future for the industry.
And, if evidence were needed to prove the sector is ready to bounce back, new research released just last week showed confidence in the Scottish construction industry has rocketed for the seventh quarter in a row.
According to the latest Scottish Construction Monitor, it has risen three points on the rating from the end of last year and now stands at +29, the highest level on record.
This means there has now been a positive rating for industry confidence in every quarter since the second quarter of 2013.
So trowels at the ready, if you please, and lets get looking for those bigger, better jobs!
Don’t get caught out: prepare yourself for the big bounce!