Vacancies up but applications down in construction

Fewer applicants are coming forward for construction jobs despite a continuing rise in the number of jobs on offer.

Job website, CV-Library, says that, in the second quarter of 2014, whilst vacancies have risen 111% compared to last year, a 17% decline in the number of applications has been found between Q1 2014 and Q2 2014.

James Cameron, Construction Recruiter at The Works, said: “with declining figures like this coming out, firms have to work hard to find new members of staff.

“This is a concern, as the reported growth in the sector will hinge on the construction industry’s ability to recruit effectively so that it can keep pace with the amount of work on offer in the market.”

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) suggest that 40,280 new recruits will be needed every year to deliver expected growth and replace those retiring from construction jobs, predicting that the sector will grow by 2.9% over the period of 2015 to 2019.