A new study has revealed the number of UK industry plant operators in the UK could be significantly higher than official figures.

In it's Construction Skills Network Forecast, the Construction Industry Training Board stated there were around 40,000 plant operatives across the construction sector.

However, a major research project by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) indicates the actual figure could be around 289,000, after the organisation engaged with CPA members UK-wide, as well as training providers and contractors.

The study also indicated recruitment is a key challenge for plant hire companies. Around 40% of respondents said recruitment is very difficult or fairly difficult, while 28% of respondents had hard-to-fill vacancies in the last year. In addition, the most common areas for recruitment over the next 12 months were found to be earthmoving (26%), cranes and lifting (19%) and materials handling (5%).

Elsewhere, the skills and knowledge of potential candidates was said to be the biggest barrier in relation to recruitment of plant operatives. Three key barriers in relation to training were found to be the cost, the time off the job required to undertake training and the quality of training available.

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In addition, the survey also revealed the level of apprenticeship training in the sector is low, potentially reducing its attractiveness as a career option compared to other construction occupations. More than 80% of respondents stated they did not currently employ any apprentices.

Kevin Minton, Director of the CPA, said: "Construction plant is on the critical path of all infrastructure and building projects and skilled and competent operators are required if projects are to be delivered safely, on budget and on target. Plant owners, operators and contractors therefore need to forecast and manage labour supply, including recruitment and retention of the existing workforce over the next 5-10 years.

"The findings from the CPA study mean that the numerical importance of plant operators as an occupational group matches their importance on site. Instead of being low in the rankings of occupation by volume, we now have the evidence to show that plant operation as an occupation is one of the top five in construction.

"The research suggests that one reason for this discrepancy is the reliance on standard classification codes for company activity and occupations. These do not necessarily match the real world of work in construction, and many employers don't fully understand them. The underreporting remained unquestioned until we raised the query.

"It would be a big task - outside our control - to correct this, but we will suggest to CITB that the Construction Skills Network report should explain the nature and significance of the published figures. Given the potential scale of the underreporting, this is essential for policy and planning purposes."

(LM/MH)