Commercial projects buoy construction market
London property aids market
Monday, 04, Aug 2008 09:15
Commercial projects have insured skilled workers have been able to secure employment in the south of England, as the property sector tumbles.
That is according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which argues it is major contracts - including Crossrail, ThamesLink and the Olympics developments - that are keeping construction workers employed in London and the south-east.
"While there has been a big drop in demand, there are some big regional variations," said Gerwyn Davies, public policy advisor at the CIPD.
"London and the south-east with the Olympic project and infrastructure projects like Cross Rail and Thames Link can offset the demand for private housing in particular."
The Crossrail project received royal endorsement last month, following the go-ahead from prime minister Gordon Brown last year.
However, this has been one of the few beacons of light in the construction industry, which has seen thousands of redundancies following a sharp slump in demand for new residential property.
According to figures from the National House Building Council (NHBC), during the three months from April to June 2008 applications to start new homes totaled only 20,973.
This represents a decrease of 51 per cent on the same three-month period a year ago, when new construction orders totaled some 42,485 properties.
Furthermore, research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) shows engineering and construction was last year's most in-demand job, but that it fell to third place this year.
However, there still appears to be a shortage of skilled labour in London, according to the REC.
Chris O'Toole