What about Construction and Building Services?

 

Evidence of the UK’s thriving construction and building services industry is all around us, from new houses to airport terminals. The jobs available within this sector are just as varied as the services it offers.

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Most people don't appreciate the true scale of the construction and building services industry. For example, did you know that the UK industry is one of the largest in the world, with output ranked in the global top ten? Or that it employs two and a half million people?

Construction projects can be found across the UK and abroad, building roads, dams, airfields, pipelines and everything in between. At a more local level, there is an army of highly skilled workers who perform vital operations to ensure the continued functioning of all of our building infrastructure.

The industry has a significant environmental impact, and in recent years it has been making considerable efforts to clean up its act. The government has pledged to make all newly built homes carbon neutral by 2016, ensuring that sustainability specialists will be in demand. London’s 2012 Olympic games are expected to create an extra 33,500 construction jobs, so it’s an exciting time to join this industry sector.

Typical Activities

The construction sector encompasses a wide variety of jobs, from electrical technicians to architects. A job in the industry could include tasks such as:

• Undertaking environmental impact assessments
• Designing and planning building installations
• Conducting research into new installations
• Improving environmental sustainability of buildings
• Maintaining existing building structures and services

Getting in

So you’re interested in construction – but how do you get involved? The construction and building services industry offers a range of employment opportunities. Each year over 80,000 people join this industry with a wide range of skills but also with the common goal of ensuring that our surroundings are both attractive and functional.

You can enter this profession at almost any level: the industry welcomes everyone from craftspeople to chartered engineers.

Apprenticeships are a common route into the sector, providing a basis for becoming a technician and supporting the work of engineers, architects, quantity surveyors etc. Wherever you are in this industry, progression is possible – if you enter as a craftsperson you could progress all the way to towards chartered status. 

"not many industries can boast this range of opportunities"

At university, degrees in civil engineering, structural engineering or construction management can prepare you for a career in construction.

With a higher than average proportion (35 per cent) of self-employed workers, particularly in flooring and plastering, the construction industry can also offer you the opportunity to be your own boss.

Typical Employers

The UK construction industry is in robust health, keeping an estimated 250,000 firms in business including:

• Balfour Beatty
• Taylor Wimpey
• Laing O’Rourke
• Alpine
• Buro Happold
• Bianchi Morley
• Streetcrane Xpress

More reading

SEMTA (Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance), Tel: 0800 282167

CITB (ConstructionSkills) and http://www.bconstructive.co.uk/, Tel: 01485 577577

SummitSkills (Building Services) 

ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers)

IStructE (Institution of Structural Engineers)

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