But it says it is up to the clients of construction companies to make it happen, not the construction companies themselves.
In 2017/18 there were 1.12 million construction workers paid via the Construction Industry Scheme, making them technically self-employed. That means 49% of the industry鈥檚 2.29 million workers are self-employed.
A report by the Construction Leadership Council鈥檚 contractor-led skills workstream says it would be a good thing if this changed.
The CLC鈥檚 Future Skills Report1 follows a consultation exercise with several industry bodies, client organisations, the University of Cambridge and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, as well as construction companies.
The report says that construction has suffered from underinvestment in training and development because it is so fragmented, with a high proportion of micro-businesses.
The report says: 鈥淲e call for clients to agree a code of employment where those who contribute to a project are directly employed, thereby ensuring it is in the employer鈥檚 best interest to train their staff and benefit from their improved productivity.鈥�
It also wants 鈥榮mart construction methods鈥� to be encouraged and for industry qualifications and training content to include 鈥榮mart construction鈥�.
Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds, who chairs the CLC鈥檚 skills workstream, said: 鈥淭his important report clearly sets out the challenge the industry and our clients face and the actions that must be taken now to avoid significant skills shortages in the future. When we have seen projects with higher levels of direct employment the results are often better, the workforce more engaged and ultimately the client and end users are happier with the final product.鈥�
Laing O鈥橰ourke commercial director John O鈥機onnor, a co-author of the report, said he was happy with the outcome. He said: 鈥淲e welcome this cross-sector report which details a clear action plan to address our future skills need. Ours is a changing industry and we need to attract digitally literate talent into our sector, who are committed to delivering projects in a virtual environment, integrated with an offsite manufacturing-led approach. Positively promoting such skills in our sector will ensure we continue to innovate in a modern and smart construction environment.鈥�
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