Our Mission
Construction East is a regional group of multi-disciplinary construction professionals with a shared goal to address the construction skills shortage through a new and innovative approach to promote our industry, highlight the opportunities and improve the education pathway for our local community.
The construction skills shortage is not new and has been well documented. We propose a fresh industry-led approach to put in place a long-term sustainable solution. Industry must support all stages of education; we must collectively increase, demonstrate and support a high quality pathway to professional qualification, for all professionals that support construction.
The demand exists. Through surveys of a snapshot of local construction consultants and contractors, we can demonstrate a need for over 120 graduates and degree apprenticeships per annum from 2024, within Norfolk. Currently we have no local offering for this education, resulting in either inefficient and costly travel, or students studying outside of our area. Over 36% of graduates get their first career opportunities where they study. Norfolk needs to retain a high percentage of this talent and attract candidates to our area to support our local industry needs.
This journey must be sustainable. We propose the pathway starts in schools, through colleges and further education, and into higher education. Construction East has a strategy to drive each element of this journey through industry-backed engagement, support of education, and increased visibility of our industry and the various professions that operate within construction.
We require funding to support this initiative through governance, media and the employment of a facilitator to manage and drive our outputs. We require £250,000.00 for the first three years of this programme. Following the initial three years we anticipate the programme being funded through a levy, further grants, and industry support.