Creation of the built environment

Construction is the creation of the built environment from football stadiums to roads.

It covers all stages of the construction process, including creating the initial ideas and designs, building the structure and ensuring that everything continues to work smoothly after it is complete.

The wide variety of skills required by the construction industry leads to a varied and interesting range of job opportunities. Good career opportunities exist for those who have an interest in the design and management of construction works, the supporting technical roles and those wishing to develop and use practical craft skills working on site.

Employing 2.35 million people, the combined employment of construction workers and professionals account for over 8% of the UK workforce. Latest forecasts show that the construction sector needs 43,000 recruits per year over the next 5 years.

In the construction industry, as long as you have the determination and put in the hard work, there is plenty of scope to move up the career ladder. There is a huge variety of training programmes available, so whatever you choose to do first is not necessarily what you will do for the rest of your career.

Once you are working in the construction industry there are plenty of opportunities available for developing your skills and knowledge. An individual's career path is likely to be varied and may well change as they begin to specialise.

The construction industry is fast developing and there are plenty of opportunities for an interesting and varied career.