Construction Bouncing Back with 28,000 Industry Job Vacancies

WHILE OTHER sectors suffer from the impact of Covid-19 and lockdown, construction is bouncing back for job hunters.

The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covering October to December 2020, show that vacancies in the sector are now 8% higher than the same period last year, pre-Covid. There are an estimated 28,000 vacancies.

To encourage more people to sign up for the wide range of construction roles now needed, a free-to-use recruitment platform, the Construction Talent Retention Scheme, is promoting opportunities for skilled workers.

Construction Talent Scheme

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme is a not-for-profit programme, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and backed by business organisations, professional institutions and construction unions. Its online portal enables job hunters to upload their CV and make contact with 770 potential employers.

The portal is currently advertising 1,124 live vacancies for roles as varied as senior construction project managers, customer service staff, engineers, salespeople, estimators, and warehouse assistants.

Three women seeking roles in the industry – Julie Traynor, Liza Zanoni and Anne Couesnon – are among more than 1,400 candidates who have already signed up to the scheme. In each case, they have found the Construction Talent Retention Scheme a good source of potential vacancies.

No Middleman

Julie Traynor, a chartered quantity surveyor and barrister, says: “After my management consultancy and social strategy business was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, I was so pleased to find the Construction Talent Retention Scheme. The portal is great, easy to use and creates an effective marketplace between employers and candidates, without the need of a middleman.

“Knowing that so many employers can easily access my professional profile, and correspondingly, that I have direct access to their opportunities and vacancies, is wonderful. It makes the whole process of finding a new opportunity much less stressful. I would definitely recommend to anyone seeking a role in the construction industry to sign up to the Construction Talent Retention Scheme.”

Professional Service

Liza Zanoni had been working as a Project Manager for a small building company in Wales until last October. Liza Zanoni, says: “As soon as I realised my role was at risk of redundancy, I put as much time and effort as I could into identifying and making use of all of the different platforms and channels to look for jobs and to network with people.

“I first found out about the Construction Talent Retention Scheme while I was on LinkedIn and immediately liked what I saw. What immediately struck me was the fact it’s an extremely professional service and an intelligent response to the current situation. The tools are easy to understand and use.”

Constantly Updated

Anne Couesnon has been using the scheme to look for new roles in business development and bid management. Anne Couesnon, says: “I immediately logged on to the site and found it was extremely easy to use. I’ve found it really useful because it contains a large database of companies I’m interested in working for and it’s constantly updated with new roles, which I check on a regular basis.

“I’ve applied for more than 20 vacancies so far and taken part in interviews, one of which I’m waiting to hear back on, and it’s all been through the Construction Talent Retention Scheme.”

The Construction Talent Retention Scheme can be found here and vacancies are also regularly promoted on social media.

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