Features

For years, tall buildings were a booming part of the sector and tower cranes were a reliable indicator of the health of the industry. But with home working and rural living on the rise, will this continue to be the case? Margo Cole examines whether the pandemic could stem the…

A new kind of educational qualification, the T-level, was launched in 2020 with the intention of attracting more young people into construction and similar fields. But the initiative remains divisive, as Construction News explores

The industry’s skills shortage has loomed large for years, but has become even more acute as both…

This year marks 150 years since the first edition of Construction News was published in 1871. To help mark the anniversary, three long-serving industry leaders tell Lem Bingley how the industry has transformed in their own lifetimes

Trad Group chief executive Des Moore believes construction remains an entrepreneurial sector where people…

Will futuristic robot construction workers rise up to plug the skills gap over the next few decades? James Wilmore investigates

Nearly four years ago, Balfour Beatty made a bold forecast. Rubbing its crystal ball, the UK’s biggest construction firm predicted that, by 2050, building sites would be largely devoid of people.…

A recent Construction News roundtable, sponsored by IFS, assessed to what extent modern methods of construction are poised to help the country ‘build back better’

On the panel: Wayne Hill, construction services director at L&Q | Jamie Hillier, founding partner at Akerlof | Kenny Ingram, vice president for engineering, construction…

With up to 150 different roles employed on the Somerset site, Greg Pitcher speaks to EDF’s skills lead on how the Hinkley Point C build will set up a pipeline of training that should benefit the construction industry for years to come

“For sure it was a big challenge,” says Helen…

With sites initially closed during the first UK-wide lockdown, constructors had to convince the government that the industry was safe to continue working during the pandemic. No area was arguably more difficult to safeguard against the spread of coronavirus than work done at height, whether it involved workers traversing narrow…

If humans can’t always be trusted to work safely at height, could a different kind of intelligence step in? Paul Thompson investigates

Almost half of the 40 workers killed on UK sites in 2019/20 resulted from falls from height. Despite the best efforts of the industry, the number of onsite deaths…

A new temporary-works access system offers a rapidly installed alternative to large-scale scaffolding. Paul Thompson reports

Even in a world where COVID-19 has made us all grimly accustomed to daily mortality figures, the statistics on deaths in the construction industry are still sobering. Despite making great strides to improve its safety…

It is well established that companies with diverse leadership teams generate higher returns, and that the construction industry has a long way to go on this front. Margo Cole explores the potential for diversity to boost your business

In recent years, many companies within the construction industry have worked extremely hard…