A recent new article reported that 82% of UK engineering and construction companies are struggling to fill vacancies. That’s an alarming statistic, especially as it’s up from 69% that was reported in the first quarter of the year.

We’ve talked a lot as an industry on how to stimulate skills development and interest in construction as a career, but these things take time. If the report is to be believed we’re falling behind. The years that it takes to develop expertise in such a technical field is one of the major challenges. Add to that all the stumbling blocks that the industry has had to endure and it’s no wonder finding top talent for most construction companies is a challenge.

In a growing sector, budgets are easily approved for investing in internships and leadership development. But when margins become tight this is one of the first things to go. Managers are told to “make do”, to get teams to do more with what they have, regardless of the volumes of work. It’s austerity measures like these that have in part, compounded the skills crisis.

This may be a bold claim, but consider this. People can endure stress for a period of time. They’re usually willing to put in the extra hours and effort when it’s crunch time on an important project. But if there’s never any relief and it’s one crisis after another, then over time, people realise it’s no longer worth it.

This is especially true when it becomes clear that their efforts won’t give them the recognition or raise that they hope for, because there’s no budget for it, and that the bottom line is all the company cares about anyway. Besides, in today’s inter-connected world, transferring skills from one industry to another is not that hard. Why work in an industry that’s constantly under pressure, yet still struggling to perform when there are better opportunities elsewhere?

It’s not a pretty picture, but it’s the reality. The question is: what can we do about it? In recruitment we’ve found the key to finding great people is consistently building good relationships. Employees are more willing to invest in their jobs when they feel valued and understood. When you build genuine industry relationships, it broadens the pool of talent that you have access to. Then, whether you’re looking for a new career opportunity or need to hire specific expertise you have a whole network to help you do just that.