.png)
For businesses operating in the engineering construction industry, staying informed of workforce trends, sector changes, growth forecasts, and recruitment challenges is pivotal for organisations to best manage their future workforce strategy.
The ECITB Workforce Census 2024, provides a comprehensive overview of these critical factors, offering invaluable insights for industry stakeholders. This article delves into the key findings of the report, exploring the current and future state of the engineering construction industry.
Sectoral and occupational distribution
The ECITB Workforce Census 2024 revealed substantial shifts in the sectoral composition of the engineering construction industry (ECI) workforce. The nuclear sector has emerged as the largest, accounting for 39.2% of workers, overtaking oil and gas, which now represents 35.2%. The renewables sector exhibited remarkable growth, nearly doubling its workforce share to 6.2%, compared with 2021 statistics. This is indicative of the energy industry’s pivot towards sustainable energy sources as net zero projects continue to get underway.
When diving deeper into occupational structure, and the balance of roles are within the sector, analysis of over 11,00 different job roles were categorised into occupational categories. An increased focus on construction and decommissioning phases saw craft roles increase by 1.2% in 2024 compared to 2021 figures, representing13.5% of the ECI workforce. Management roles also increased by 2.7%, now making up 18% of the workforce – second only to Engineers, who whilst representing 19.6% of the current workforce saw a 2.7% decline compared with 2021. Support roles saw a similar 2.7% decline, with an indication in the report that the adoption of new digital technologies may represent a decrease in office-based support roles.
Growth forecasts
Asking ECI employers to look ahead over the next three years, the industry anticipates a workforce growth of 11.7% through to 2027, driven by expansions in nuclear, energy from waste, and hydrogen sectors, alongside conventional oil and gas projects. With nuclear new build projects being a notable development area, alongside other net zero initiatives. This optimistic outlook, however, is tempered by uncertainties surrounding project investments, underscoring the need to ensure preparations are well underway to build a skilled workforce ready to undertake future projects.
Interestingly, only 1.1% of employers surveyed predicted a decrease in headcount over the next three years – with 15.6% predicting a stable headcount.
Recruitment trends
Recruitment challenges have become more pronounced, with 71% of employers reporting difficulties in 2024, compared with 53% in 2021. The main challenges include shortages of qualifications and skills, mismatches between candidate expectations and employer offerings, challenges with too few suitable candidates and increased competition among employers. Critical roles such as Pipefitters, Riggers and Design Technicians are among the most difficult to fill, signalling a pressing need for targeted training and recruitment strategies.
Sharing the recruitment challenge
In this complex landscape, we’re passionate about supporting our clients to address their skills shortages and manage their future workforce needs. Our four decades of expertise in engineering construction positions us to help businesses navigate the sector's evolving needs and the recruitment challenges this brings.
Whether we’re working with clients to deliver recruitment strategies that bridge skills gaps or rolling out a diversity and inclusion initiative that helps to attract new candidates into a discipline, our recruitment experts work in partnership with our clients to share their challenges.
Strategic workforce planning
In anticipation of future trends and growth forecasts, our recruitment teams provide strategic workforce planning, ensuring that businesses are prepared to meet their long-term objectives. This forward-focused approach is critical in navigating the uncertainties surrounding project investments and workforce requirements, carefully balancing the requirement for new permanent hires with contracted workforces to temporarily scale up business operations.