Construction needs immigrants, says CIOB

However, importing workers from overseas should not be a substitute for training indigenous UK nationals, the CIOB says.

The report, CIOB Perspectives: An analysis on migration in the construction sector, has been written for the CIOB by journalist Brian Green. It sets out the effect of migration on UK construction and proposes policy options for government and industry.

The main conclusions include:

•  Migration is necessary to construction. Tight regulation of migration would damage construction activity in the UK.

•  A perception of having closed borders would greatly weaken the prospects of UK contractors and consultants winning work overseas.

•  Other than regulatory control, the most effective way to reduce migration into construction is to invest heavily in training young UK citizens.

•  Putting more money into construction will generate more migrant labour but also reduce the stresses on the community created by immigration.

The report also recommends that extra efforts should be made with managing foreign nationals. It says: “The industry must remain vigilant and ensure migrant workers receive excellent induction and suitable training, particularly in relation to health and safety. Adequate monitoring should also be in place to discourage the exploitation of migrants.”

However, it makes no specific mention of the issue of language and consequent challenges for site managers.  Cases like the deaths of Latvian Nikolajs Naumovs in Fraserburgh in 2009 and Slovakian René Tkacik on the Crossrail project last year have been attributed, at least in part, to the language barrier. Neither man had a good grasp of the English language.

CIOB chief executive Chris Blythe said: “It’s essential that the voice of the construction industry is heard clearly in the migration debate so it can help shape a sensible policy that meets both its needs and those of the wider community. Globally, construction has always relied on migration to fill in gaps in the labour market – simply cutting off the supply of migrant workers risks seriously damaging the UK’s economic prospects both at home and abroad.

“But of more importance is the need to address the fact that the industry simply does not train its own people in sufficient numbers. There can be no excuses for construction not to provide more training opportunities for young UK nationals.

“Our report contains a series of sensible recommendations that need to be considered away from the broader issue of whether the UK should be in or out of the European Union.”

Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk