This week, Robert Jenrick MP - the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government - announced planning reforms in a bid to get the UK building trade back on its feet.

Dubbed 'Rob the Builder', Jenrick promised to rip up red tape in order to help smaller construction firms and kickstart the British economy.

The government is planning to construct 300,000 new properties each year, and Jenrick wants a "substantial" portion of those buildings to be constructed by small and medium-sized businesses.

He said:

"We'll cut red tape, but not standards - placing a higher regard on quality, design and the environment than ever before.

"Planning decisions will be simple and transparent, with local democracy at the heart of the process. Today's reforms are going to give our brickies, builders and labourers the boost they need to get back to the business of building homes.

"Thousands of self-employed workers will be able to don their hard hats and help the country recover from the impact of coronavirus."

Many construction workers and other tradespeople have been outspoken in their appreciation of the news, welcoming moves to speed up the planning process.

One company spokesperson said: "Many building workers are paid weekly, so it's a quickfire way to put cash back into the economy."

With the UK building trade at the forefront of government plans for the nation's economic recovery, there has never been a better time to learn a trade and join the construction industry. Call Access Training on 0800 345 7492 to speak with a course advisor today.

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Although we've repeated posted news on the construction industry being on the rise, the forecast of many of its workers leaving in the next 5-10 years is something that we have shown much concern about. Recent research has shown that encouraging more to take up construction training courses and become a labourer has become more crucial than ever, revealing that around 4 in 10 workers are thinking of changing their job in the next year.

This research comes from the group Investors in People, who discovered that the 43% considering a job change were attributing it to factors such as work dissatisfaction and renewed confidence in the wider job market. Construction workers specifically are looking to be valued in their jobs, with 81% citing greater job satisfaction as their main incentive for leaving - considerably ahead of pay which was at 50%.

Valerie Todd, chair of IIP and Director of Talent and Resources at Crossrail, said: that while he end of the recession was good news for construction sectors, an upturn in the economy means that "dissatisfied workers now have more confidence to look elsewhere, so business owners who aren’t doing all they can to value their staff can no longer be complacent."  She went to to say that: “Now is the time for businesses to take action to retain their talented people.”

But again, with potentially 400,000 people estimated to retire in the next few years attempting to "retain their talented people" is only going to get so far. However improving job satisfaction is an integral part of encouraging more people to train in a construction trade such as bricklaying or carpentry, as it will add another appealing element to the career alongside the great pay and more rewarding line of work. 

If you are considering changing careers and would like to find out what construction training can offer you, please give Access Training Academies a call on 0800 345 7492. We'd not only be happy to tell you more, but you can also arrange a tour of our state-of-the-art training centre. Here we offer a wide variety of different construction trades, including carpentry, bricklaying, plastering, tiling and painting and decorating (in addition to plumbing, electric and gas engineering). You'll be able to meet our experienced teaching staff and ask them any questions you might have about either the course of life as a fully qualified tradesman.

You can view the full news story on the Construction Enquirer.

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