Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Reflecting back on Christmas last year, when Boris told us we could still have a Christmas, but further restrictions might be coming in the New Year. The Trafalgar Square New Year celebrations were cancelled for a second year on the trot and Covid passports were needed to get into nightclubs and other venues. Facemasks were … Continued

If you are struggling with your mental health over the holidays here are some contacts numbers in case, you need to reach out.

We work within many industries which are heavily male-dominated including construction, manufacturing, industrial and security and now that men can speak out about issues that are affecting them it is important to raise awareness of where you can get help over the Christmas and New Year holidays. Men continue to account for 75% of all … Continued

Pressure continues to grow on driver vacancies

Like many industries in the UK, the impact of an ageing workforce and post-Brexit losses, driver vacancies continue to challenge this £32.2 billion industry. Almost 30% of the current personnel are aged 56 or over and retention is becoming a key factor in an industry which is placing increasing pressure on drivers to achieve tough … Continued

How is the manufacturing industry tackling the current skills gap?

According to the CBI’s latest Industrial Trends Survey, firms are citing the shortage of skilled labour in the manufacturing sector as the worse its been since the 1970s, and this continues to put a strain on manufacturing output. This combined with increasing costs of materials has impacted business confidence and output. So what are the … Continued

During the first 8 months of 2022 Essex has passed 5,000 planning permissions for new homes in the County as London lags behind existing targets for affordable homes.

Essex continues to drive the number of applications being approved to achieve its housing targets, with 5328 houses and apartments along with student accommodation and care villages. The Mayor of London was given a grant of £4.82m to build 116,000 affordable dwellings in London in 2016 and these were due to be built by 2021, … Continued

Construction pay reaches a 6-month high.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics have shown an increase of 4% in the average construction workers’ pay packet, reaching an average weekly earning in September of £722, with construction vacancies continuing to rise. Unfortunately, construction worker salaries are not managing to keep up with inflation but they are still the third-highest of … Continued