Tradesmen have urged the Government to protect the industry from future recessions at a round table discussion hosted by UK Construction Week in association with Checkatrade.

The event, which was chaired by TV personality and Checkatrade Ambassador Craig Phillips, brought together a cross-section of tradesmen from around the industry to discuss the key topics affecting construction professionals today. Top of the agenda was a sense of dissatisfaction with the level of support the Government gives to construction, despite the industry being a driving factor behind economic recovery and growth. 

Discussing the prospect of another recession in the future, several participants claimed that the constant cycle of boom and bust is the biggest threat to their businesses today, with not enough being done to support construction companies during the hard times – in sharp contrast to other industries such as automotive and finance.

Craig said: “It’s disheartening that during the last recession the British car industry received a package of benefits and funding from the government, as well as huge bailouts for the banking sector, yet the construction industry was left to fend for itself. It was the same story during the recession in the 1990s and this on-going cycle continues to threaten long-term construction productivity. As a major contributor to the UK’s economy, it’s high time the government provided the construction industry with the assurances and security it deserves.”

Another issue highlighted by the discussion concerned the lack of regulations regarding competent work. Posing a major threat to the industry’s reputation, several speakers argued that there is not enough enforcement to ensure contractors deliver high quality standards of work, with the heating and electrical trades in particular highlighting this as a real problem. This means that often jobs are won on cost alone, opening the door for less scrupulous contractors to undercut genuine tradesmen by delivering substandard or dangerous installations.

Founder of Checkatrade Kevin Byrne said: “It was interesting to hear the speakers talk about how important reputation is to them and the difficulties they face with ‘cowboy’ traders out there in the market. Another issue was around effectively marketing their businesses on social media, as while all of the speakers were aware how important this is, most of them were unsure how to go about it. We’ll be looking to help the trade visitors get to grips with this as part of our offering at UK Construction Week.”

UK Construction Week takes place from 6 – 11 October (with the trade only days from 6 – 8 October) at the Birmingham NEC. It combines nine shows under one roof, uniting 1,000 exhibitors with an expected audience of 55,000 visitors.

For more information visit www.ukconstructionweek.com