Skills development of employees at SMEs in the construction sector in the North of England

Ganah, Abdulkadir and Rennie, Allan (2010) Skills development of employees at SMEs in the construction sector in the North of England. In: The Construction, Building and Real Estate Research Conference of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (COBRA 2010). Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), FRA. ISBN 978-1-84219-619-9

Abstract

In order to achieve a successful development of the economy and society of a country a highly knowledgeable and skilled labour force is needed. Training and skills development are key to maintaining a healthy construction industry in the UK. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in construction to retain a competitive advantage invest on training and development of its employees. This research aims to investigate skills development in SMEs in the construction sector. To achieve this aim, a series of semi-structured interviews with directors and/or senior managers of 89 SMEs, were conducted. These SMEs selected randomly from a database of SMEs in the construction industry in the North of England. The analysis revealed that there are a range of barriers that may hinder the efforts of many training initiatives offered by organisations and government departments to help SMEs to gain a competitive advantage. These include awareness, finance, access, geographical location and provision of training and other skills development opportunities.