That the Parliament recognises reports of the continued skills gap in the construction sector, including in the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency; notes recent statistics from the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) indicating positive shifts in perceptions of the sector across the country and, it understands, that almost three quarters (74%) of young people aged between 16 and 24 in Scotland hold a positive view of construction careers and more than a third (36%) would consider working in the construction sector; further notes the belief that more must be done to increase awareness of careers in the sector to ensure that the construction industry has a steady supply of labour with the necessary skills, and welcomes industry-led initiatives that seek to increase engagement between young people and Scotland’s construction sector such as the CIOB's Student Challenge and the Scottish Traditional Building Forum's skills demonstration programmes.
Supported by:
Karen Adam, Jeremy Balfour, Colin Beattie, Miles Briggs, Alexander Burnett (Registered interest)
, Foysol Choudhury, Bob Doris, Annabelle Ewing, Joe FitzPatrick, Kenneth Gibson, Clare Haughey, Stephen Kerr, Bill Kidd, Monica Lennon, Fulton MacGregor, Ben Macpherson, John Mason, Liam McArthur, Stuart McMillan, Carol Mochan, Audrey Nicoll, Alex Rowley, Lorna Slater, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, Michelle Thomson, David Torrance, Brian Whittle