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The construction industry is the largest separate sector in the UK, generating £139Bn of value in 2023, delivered by 365,000 VAT registered businesses, employing over 1.4M people and supported by over 750,000 self-employed staff. These numbers often mask the messages coming from the industry on what we have to do to stay ahead, as leaders focus on their experience and anecdotal case studies. As an established sector, there is a huge amount of data that is published on construction. However, many of us need a guide to advise on the origin, veracity and meaning of this data. Max Wilkes, an Associate Director for Atkins Realis chats to Mark on the meaning of the data that is available and the predictions that the current data shows. They review the productivity arguments as well as our position within the world, noting that wage inflation will continue to be a significant driver for cost increases and that material prices have risen faster in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. Max is a strong advocate that the data shows that companies need to train their staff, invest in IT and other equipment and focus on corporate performance over project results. His view is that the industry can do much to improve its performance and that we should not expect outside bodies, such as Government, to solve our issues for us.
