Construction skills training for the next millennium

Construction skills and training needs have changed with the introduction of new business processes, different forms of organizing production and technical innovation. In the UK, training provision has failed to adapt fully to the needs of a modernizing industry. Formal training programmes have been inappropriate in content and inadequate in quantity. Many of them are out of date. An assessment is provided of the types of skill and training required to implement innovative approaches for improving construction performance. It is based on analysis of work carried out during a major national review of construction operative and supervisory skills training in the UK undertaken for the Construction Industry Board. It seeks to provide a framework for analysing skill needs in the context of modern performance targets, together with policy recommendations for decision-makers in firms, government and training institutions. The conclusion that a new generic training programme is required is of general relevance to practitioners, trainers and researchers in the UK and in other countries.