In February 2016, quantity surveyor Mark Farmer was commissioned by the Construction Leadership Council, at the request of government, to undertake a review of the UK鈥檚 construction labour model. He has now delivered that report.
The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model1, subtitled Modernise or Die, highlights construction鈥檚 dysfunctional training model, its lack of innovation and collaboration as well as its non-existent research and development (R&D) culture.
It says that low productivity continues to hamper the sector, while recent high levels of cost inflation, driven by a shortage of workers, has stalled numerous housing schemes as they have become too expensive to build.
The answers, it argues, lie in offsite prefabrication and a reinvention of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
Led by Mark Farmer, chief executive of Cast, a real estate and construction consultancy, the report says that the needs of construction firms need to be more closely aligned to those of the customers that hire them.
鈥淚f you buy a new car, you expect it to have been built in a factory to exacting standards, to be delivered on time, to an agreed price and to a predetermined quality鈥� said Mark Farmer, a former partner at EC Harris. 鈥淭his needs to happen more in construction, so that the investors, developers or building owners hiring construction firms increasingly dictate the use of modern methods of delivery and invest appropriately in the skills agenda to grow this part of the industry. There are more similarities between manufacturing and construction than many people are led to believe and this perception needs to change, starting in the housing market.鈥�
One recommendation set out for the medium term is a behavioural deterrent scheme in the style of the plastic carrier bag charge. This would levy a tax on businesses who buy construction work in a way that doesn鈥檛 support industry innovation or skills development. Clients could face paying a suggested levy equal to 0.5% of a scheme鈥檚 construction cost but would have the ability to avoid paying this tax completely by commissioning construction in a more responsible way.
Farmer has made 10 recommendations which include:
鈥� Using the residential development sector as a pilot programme to drive the use of pre-manufactured construction, for example, through offsite built or modular housing.
鈥� A wholesale reform of the CITB and its levy system, including a new mandate to fund and drive forward skills development and innovation.
鈥� Government to use its education, fiscal, housing and planning policy measures to initiate change and create the right conditions that will support the construction sector鈥檚 modernisation.
With more people leaving the industry each year than joining, the construction workforce is shrinking. Reliance on a fractured supply chain and self-employment also means there is little incentive for contractors to invest in long term training for the labour force.
The situation is exacerbated by the fact that many school leavers and graduates don鈥檛 view construction as an attractive career choice.
Construction productivity has not improved in decades so ways to make the work less labour intensive must be found, such as through offsite construction. This, in turn, could make a career in the sector more attractive for young people by moving the work from building sites to digitally-enabled working in factories, it is suggested.
Mark Farmer said: 鈥淭he construction industry is in dire need of change. What is clear to me following the nine months spent conducting this review is that carrying on as we are is simply not an option. With digital technology advancements pushing ahead in almost every other industry and with the construction labour pool coming under serious pressure, the time has come for action. The construction industry doesn鈥檛 have the impetus needed for this change; it requires external action to initiate change.
鈥淯nless we find some way of promoting innovation in construction and making the work less labour intensive and more attractive to new entrants, there鈥檚 a very real danger of the construction sector going into an inexorable decline over the next few years. I hope this review generates some debate in the sector and all involved can consider their role in safeguarding the industry鈥檚 long term health.鈥�
Industry minister Jesse Norman said: 鈥淭his government is determined to support more housebuilding, more quickly and in the places people want to live. Given the launch of the 拢3bn Home Building Fund, Mark Farmer鈥檚 important review in this vital sector is very timely. It makes a strong case for change in the industry, identifies areas where it needs to improve, and sets out areas for action. We will now carefully consider his recommendations.鈥�
Industry reaction
Ray O鈥橰ourke, chairman and chief executive at Laing O鈥橰ourke, said: 鈥淟aing O鈥橰ourke has invested heavily in innovation and continuous improvement, and therefore I welcome many of the findings and recommendations of the Farmer review. The report shines a light on the serious and systemic issues in UK house building and the wider construction industry, and we cannot afford to ignore them any longer.
鈥淭here is significant scope for radical transformation through the adoption of new technologies and advanced manufacturing approaches.聽 This will deliver the quality housing stock the UK urgently requires and directly address the acute skills gap that threatens our very future.聽 Government, developers and deliverers need to invest collectively to achieve these shared goals and future-proof the industry.鈥�
Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds said: 鈥淔armer鈥檚 review makes it clear that the construction industry needs to invest in training and R&D to boost productivity and ensure we have adequate capacity to deliver the UK鈥檚 economic and social infrastructure. It underlines the importance of introducing new skills and technology to the sector. We all need to embrace this catalyst for change to attract a new breed of talent to revolutionise our industry.鈥�
Like Laing O鈥橰ourke, Legal & General has also invested in offsite prefabrication. Legal & General Capital managing director Paul Stanworth said: 鈥淭his review sets out a clear way for the construction sector to reinvent itself in order to meet the ever-growing demand for homes and infrastructure. With such a chronic shortage of homes in the UK, we see rapid evolution as a 鈥榤ust have鈥� for the industry, not just a 鈥榥ice to have鈥�. Having identified such a requirement, Legal & General is helping to address this problem by investing in a modern factory to produce homes using manufacturing processes seen in the production of cars and other consumer goods. This construction method is safe, clean, and fast, providing a high level of consistency and durability. We sincerely hope that Farmer鈥檚 review galvanises the entire sector to invest in innovation and secure its future.鈥�
1. The Farmer Review of the UK Construction Labour Model can be downloaded .
Those Farmer Recommendations In Full
1: The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) should have strategic oversight of the implementation of these recommendations and evolve itself appropriately to coordinate and drive the process of delivering the required industry change programme set out in this review.
2: The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)聽 should be comprehensively reviewed and a reform programme instituted.
3: 聽Industry, clients and government should work together leveraging CLC鈥檚 Business Models workstream activity, to improve relationships and increase levels of investment in R&D and innovation in construction by changing commissioning trends from traditional to pre-manufactured approaches. The housing sector (spanning all tenures) should be used as a scalable pilot programme for this more integrated approach.
4: 聽Industry, government and clients, supported by academic expertise and leveraging CLC鈥檚 current Innovation workstream activity, should organise to deliver a comprehensive innovation programme. This should be fully aligned to market, benefits case led and generate a new shape of demand across industry (with a priority on residential construction). It should quickly define key measures of progress and report regularly against these as a check on the possible need for more radical measures. It should, in turn, also help to shape CITB reform proposals in relation to technology and innovation grant funding initiatives.
5:听 A reformed CITB should look to reorganise its grant funding model for skills and training aligned to what a future modernised industry will need. Industry bodies and professional institutions should also take a more active role in ensuring that training courses are producing talent which is appropriate for a digitally enabled world, making sure that the right business models are evolved with appropriate contractual frameworks.
6:聽 A reformed CITB or stand-alone body should be challenged and empowered to deliver a more powerful public facing story and image for the holistic 鈥榖uilt environment鈥� process, of which construction forms part. This responsibility should include an outreach programme to schools and should draw on existing industry exemplars and the vision for the industry鈥檚 future state rather than just 鈥榖usiness as usual鈥�.
7: 聽聽Government has recently reaffirmed its commitment to having a strong industrial strategy. The Government should recognise the value of the construction sector and be willing to intervene by way of appropriate further education, planning and tax / employment policies to help establish and maintain appropriate skills capacity.
8: Government should act to provide an 鈥榠nitiation鈥� stimulus to innovation in the housing sector by promoting the use of pre-manufactured solutions through policy measures. This should be prioritised either through the conditional incentivisation of institutional development and investment in the private rented sector; the promotion of more pre-manufactured social housebuilding through Registered Providers; direct commissioning of pre-manufactured housing; or a combination of any of the above. It should also consider planning breaks for pre-manufactured approaches.
9:听 Government, as part of its housing policy planning, should work with industry to assemble and publish a comprehensive pipeline of demand in the new-build housing sector. This should be along the same lines as the National Infrastructure Pipeline, seeking to bring private developers and investors into this as far as possible to assist with longer term innovation and skills investment planning.
10:聽 In the medium to longer-term, and in particular if a voluntary approach does not achieve the step-change necessary, government should consider introducing a charge on business clients of the construction industry to further influence commissioning behaviour and to supplement funding for skills and innovation at a level commensurate with the size of the industry.聽 If such a charge is introduced, it should be set at no more than 0.5% of construction value, with a clear implementation timetable. Clients should be able to avoid paying this by demonstrating how they are contributing to industry capacity building and modernisation by directly or indirectly supporting skills development, pre-manufacturing facilities, or other forms of innovation and R&D.
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