Stronger narratives promoting the broad range of career opportunities available within the construction sector must be developed to help attract a more diverse pool of talent to join the industry, a webinar heard.

Leadership development company Caerus’ chief executive Frank Douglas told Skanska’s Future of Construction remote discussion last week that the sector faces a skills challenge which is set to worsen after Brexit.

“The construction industry has a branding issue. Most people think of construction as bricklaying and pouring cement,” he added, calling on the industry to do more to help people recognise the wide range of roles available.

He also said: “I don’t think the construction industry has done enough to make itself attractive to black and Asian people, as well as women. It has not really focused enough on understanding their needs and wants.”

He pointed to research which shows that companies which excel in gender and ethnic diversity are 35% more likely to outperform their competitors.

Skanska graduate engineer Holly Smith also addressed the session. “I believe we can only achieve the best engineering and construction solutions for society through creative thinking and encompassing a wide range of perspectives from a diverse range of people,” she said.

She added that at present the construction industry “isn’t casting the net wide enough in the potential pool of talent”, which makes it difficult to tackle some of the existing preconceptions about careers in the sector.

Network Rail’s director of diversity and inclusion Loraine Martins agreed with the need to make sure the sector’s narrative appeals to a broader set of audiences.

“Where we start to talk about the social impact of what we do and the range of jobs that are available in construction, that then begins to attract more people,” she said.

“We need to develop our narrative about how fantastic the industry is, we have to have more role models that show others it is possible to work in our sector and we need to be very intentional in those activities.”

Skanska chief executive Gregor Craig emphasised a need to create an environment within companies where people feel comfortable to challenge current practices in order to improve inclusion.

(Photograph: Network Rail)