If you are looking to get involved in the construction industry as a tradesperson, business owner, or property developer, there are a few things you should know.
The construction industry is one of the biggest and most varied industries in the world with everything from the building of railways to skyscrapers falling into the category of construction.
Every single day the industry changes a little bit and there are many incredibly facts about the sector that most people are never aware of. Luckily for you, after reading this blog, you won’t be one of them.
The gender pay gap is relatively small
Traditionally, the construction industry is one that has been dominated by male workers. However, statistics show that whilst there is certainly still work to be done in reducing inequalities in the industry, women actually earn nearly as much as men in most roles, making the gender pay gap far smaller than in other industries.
The industry is getting old
We are not quite at the stage where construction can be called a lost art, but the average age of a worker is certainly creeping upwards. The average age of a construction worker in the UK is now over 40 years of age and there looks likely to be a serious workforce shortage in the future if action isn’t taken.
There are over 10,000 nails in the average home
Around 10,000-12,000 nails are used in the construction of the average domestic home, that’s a lot of nails!
The construction industry is one of the biggest victims of crime
The construction industry is regularly the victim of theft and vandalism due to the number of high value assets on site. In fact, a whopping £800m is lost from the industry every year in the UK as a result of these crimes and there is a whole industry built around construction site security due to the severity of the issue.
Drones are now commonplace
Technology has revolutionised construction over the past few decades and drones are now regularly used to survey sites, monitor project progress and for security purposes. They provide a unique perspective that cannot be matched by any other surveillance tool.
Falls are the biggest health and safety risk
In a world of heavy machinery, equipment, and tools, it may come as some surprise to learn that the biggest cause of accidents in the construction industry is actually falls. Falling results in as much as 4x more deaths than any other accident in the construction industry.
Concrete is the most used material
Perhaps not the most surprising fact on this list is you work in the construction industry already, but concrete is far and away the most used material in construction projects worldwide. The use of concrete actually dates back many thousands of years to the ancient Egyptians although in more recent times there have been questions over the environmental impact that the material is having on our world.