This week, the contractor headlines have been dominated by employment issues.
Andrew Eldred, ECA director of employment and skills, commented on what needs to be done to tackle the UK skills shortage, whilst gender and ethnicity pay gap issues were highlighted in the pages of Construction News.
The construction industry requires an estimated 157,000 new recruits by 2021 in order to keep up with demand, and in order to achieve this, there not only needs to be a greater appeal to young people, but greater diversity across the board.
In positive news, deputy first minister for Scotland, John Swinney, has announced a further £1bn is to be invested into the rebuilding and refurbishment of Scottish schools, posing a massive opportunity for contractors across the country.