Construction is one of the fastest growing industries in recent years – since the lifting of lockdown, it has been one of the largest growing sectors in the world. It is one of the only industries that has grown bigger and at such a fast rate since the pandemic, and for many, construction could be a very lucrative career path. With the emergence of the green economy and the need to reach net zero targets, careers in construction are far more desirable – there is plenty of opportunity for work where it’s needed. If you want to develop your career in construction, make sure you’re following these steps.
Assess Your Skills and Interests
One of the most important things you need to do if you want a career in construction is to assess your skills and interests – this will help you understand the occupational role you want to get into. For example, if you want to be a joiner, you should have good communication skills as well as maths. By assessing your skills and interests, you will be able to find the area that you want to work in.
Make Sure That It’s For You
Knowing if a job is for you is one of the best things you can do if you want to pick a career – and construction can be very difficult, so you need to know that it’s right for you. Why not try and find people who already work in construction for their opinions and thoughts, or why not look into shadowing someone for a day? Labouring on a construction site, after you have completed your health and safety course, is a great way to determine whether the career is for you.
Explore Your Options
Construction is an extremely broad industry, and you might be able to work in a lot of different parts of that industry. There are so many different sectors in construction – residential, commercial, civil, environmental – the possibilities are endless. If you want to start your career in construction, you should narrow down which area you’d like to work in the most. As well as gaining an occupational role, you might be able to get involved with project management, design, engineering, surveying, quality control, or safety – so there are definitely many options for you to explore.
Get On-Site
One of the best ways to start your career is to get on-site as a labourer, as long as you have completed all necessary qualifications and got your green CSCS card, so you can get some experience. This way, you can get first-hand experience of how a construction site works, and how you can get involved. This is one of the best things you can do if you really want to get into construction.
Don’t Forget Your Soft Skills
One of the most important things you shouldn’t forget when it comes to working on a construction site is your soft skills. Soft skills include things such as communication, problem-solving, working in a team – which are all essential when it comes to construction. Soft skills are arguably just as important as your occupational skill if you want to work in construction. Make sure to not neglect these soft skills if you want to have a long and lucrative career in the construction industry.
Pursue Education and Training
Getting experience on-site is incredibly important if you want to have a great career in construction – however, your education and training is very important too. There are many ways in which you can develop your training and skills in the construction industry, from health and safety qualifications, to construction NVQs in your chosen occupational area, to site manager qualifications. Getting the right training and qualifications is essential if you want to further your career in the construction industry, so it’s definitely something that you pursue.
Build Your Network
The best way for construction companies to get work is through word of mouth – and that’s also true for construction workers. As a construction worker, you may be asked to work on a lot of different sites under different managers – and having a good network will be very useful when it comes to being referred for different jobs. If you do a good job and get on well with people, you will be remembered when it comes to finding people for more work – so make sure you keep building that network.
Create A Portfolio
One of the best things you can do if you want to enhance your career in construction is to create a portfolio of your previous work. This is one of the best things you can show prospective clients and bosses, so they can see evidence of your good work first hand. Taking pictures of your finished work (if you can) is essential if you want to grow your career in construction and find more work.