The UK’s construction industry has hardly changed in 40 years. It
is not as efficient as it could be, and faces a looming skills
gap brought on by an ageing workforce.
A new £72 million Core Innovation Hub will help to lead a
transformation in construction, make it more productive and
importantly create new, high-value jobs at the same time.
By supporting research and development in digital and offsite
manufacturing, the hub will advance new knowledge and approaches
in construction, bring forward new jobs and build the supply
chain.
New skills and a more diverse workforce
Introducing more standardised modular components, construction
techniques and processes will remove some of the risks and create
safer, more efficient work.
This will require a brand new skill set and help to diversify the
available workforce. It is anticipated this could open up job
opportunities with new groups, including the unemployed and
people who are homeless or have disabilities.
As one of the largest sectors in the UK economy – estimated to employ around
9 per cent of the total UK workforce, equating to 3.1 million
people – there is potential for even more people to enter the
profession from a range of backgrounds and benefit from the
opportunities.
Better places to live and work
The Core Innovation Hub will develop digitally-driven,
standardised approaches that improve the whole-life performance
of built assets and create higher-quality, cost-effective
buildings that are more comfortable to live and work in.
The investment is through the £170 million transforming construction
challenge, part of the government’s Industrial Strategy
Challenge Fund that is being delivered by UK Research and Innovation.
Sam Stacey, Challenge Director, UK Research and Innovation, said:
We need to transform construction so that we can create
affordable places to live and work that are safer, healthier
and use less energy.
By taking a lead in the UK, we can increase our ability to
export. Global demand for efficient buildings is rising
rapidly, driven by the pressures of urbanisation, affordability
and the need to cut emissions.
Delivering homes and buildings the nation needs
The Core Innovation Hub is a partnership between the Manufacturing Technology
Centre, Building Research
Establishment and the University of Cambridge’s Centre
for Digital Built Britain.
The hub was announced last week by Business and Industry Minister
during a visit to the
Building Research Establishment.
He said:
From the introduction of virtual reality to off-site
manufacturing, our modern Industrial
Strategy is helping the UK construction sector to
develop new techniques and skills - modernising the sector and
delivering the homes and buildings our nation needs.
