It is tempting at the start of each new year to make some predictions. The truth is that for 2011 it is going to be difficult to predict anything at all. However, looking longer term, there is more clarity about the general direction, if not the actual detail.
The recently published Low Carbon Construction report for the BIS Innovation and Growth Team sets out a fascinating prospectus for the industry and the government on what needs to happen to achieve our climate change targets as far as the built environment is concerned.
But sustainability is not the only challenge facing the industry. Professional institutions need to change. There are too many of them,
often concerned with such narrow interests that they continue to propagate old ways rather than encouraging new thinking.
Design and construction needs to be closer and while there have been a number of calls for this to happen over the years, embedding it throughout the industry is devilishly difficult.
The same is true of some of the industry’s support structures. It seems ludicrous that there are three sector skills councils covering the built environment — SummitSkills, ConstructionSkills and Asset Skills — and it is to be hoped that we can achieve one that has the full brief rather than a range with partial briefs.
Adding to these pressures will be the changes coming from the Browne Review of higher education. Raising the fee levels for students will have a big impact. The universities will be challenged in being able to deliver value, and for students looking at large debts on graduation, “value” will be defined as a good job.
Then, of course, there are those who decide not to go to university. Should they be disadvantaged in becoming a professional? No, and it will be down to professional bodies and employers to be clear on what we want. But it does open up the potential for the expansion of work-based learning and alternative learning provision more suited to the needs of individuals rather than traditional providers.
With the new fees structure applying from 2012, the need to have new solutions in place is urgent. If our industry can deliver the right sort of career options then we have the best chance to ensure that the industry gets the quantity and quality of people it needs.
