Faster, smarter, more efficient: building skills for offsite construction

Offsite construction – the manufacture and assembly of construction components prior to installation onsite – has the potential to revolutionise the industry.

Adoption is growing and recent prominent calls for change, including Mark Farmer’s report entitled ‘Modernise or Die’, and government initiatives aimed at encouraging the use of offsite, suggests the opportunity to realise the benefits is being grasped.

Potentially, the biggest drag on the adoption of offsite construction is having a skilled workforce that is equipped to meet the demands of the new processes. Offsite blurs the lines between construction, manufacturing and engineering, and places much greater emphasis on digital skills as well as the right attitudes and behaviours.

This research report – ‘Faster, Smarter, More Efficient: Building Skills for Offsite Construction’ – provides a timely assessment of how the adoption of offsite is changing the skills and training landscape for construction. It identifies the different functions required for successful implementation of offsite, what skills are needed, the gaps in training provision and what industry and CITB can do to address these challenges.

The main findings and CITB’s response to the recommendations, including a foreword by Mark Farmer is presented in the ‘Research summary and action plan’ This is supported by a set of ‘personas’ which outline the specific skills needs and issues to address for each of the six key functions identified by the research.