CPA Bulletin

FROM THE DIRECTOR From The Director Howmany plant operators are there in the UK? This basic information is essential for policy planners, employers, CPA and CITB. To find the answer, in 2017 CPA commissioned Skyblue Research to examine the supply and demand of plant operatives in the construction industry. The project was funded by CITB under the Flexible Funding scheme. The total number of plant operators in the UK is not accurately known. According to the Construction Skills Network forecast (published by CITB) there are around 40,000 Plant Operatives working in construction. However, this number appears to be a significant understatement. This is clearly shown by the fact that the Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) has around 180,000 registered plant operators. In addition to this there are several other card schemes and there are believed to be a large number of operators who do not hold competence or training cards. To date it has not been possible to accurately determine the reasons behind these discrepancies, although some potential factors which may have had an effect have been identified. These are discussed in detail in the report. The primary research process successfully engaged 50 CPA member organisations distributed across the UK, sampled by size and geography. Whilst this is thought to be the largest single sample of CPA members researched in recent years at depth around the theme of workforce development, it is still a relatively modest sample in statistical terms. The research team have therefore advised some caution in the interpretation of the data and recommend that the findings should not be generalised to the entire sector of 1,600 CPA Members without proper care being taken to ensure that the generalisation is justified. However, the numbers and sizes of the 50 Members surveyed did fairly closely match the distribution of company size across the entire CPA membership. The total size of the plant operator workforce amongst the 50 Members surveyed was 9,038. This includes 604 (7%) who were classed as “Other construction staff who are not plant specialists but may use plant as part of their wider role”. Assuming the sample surveyed was representative of the wider membership, this would indicate a total plant operator workforce of around 290,000. Of these around 19,000 would be construction workers who use plant as part of their role. It should be noted that these estimates are based on a series of (clearly stated) assumptions. While providing an indication of the potential numbers of the construction plant operatives, it is based on the number of responses which is relatively small. However, a conservative estimate of 250,000 plant operators is justified by the responses. The report gives more detail on the statistical significance of the figures. Although the number of 250,000 is an estimate, it is clearly much larger than the “official” statistics. The scale of employment in the plant sector can now be seen as much more significant in the overall context of the construction industry. For example, when ranked in order by number of persons in each occupation, “plant operative” is currently in about 18th place, with 40,000 workers. If the number were 250,000, it moves to third place. The complete report will be published soon, and made available to all Members. Our thanks go to those who participated in the survey. www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2018 7 PLANT OPERATORS - RESEARCH