What happens if we don't reach net zero by 2050?To enable us to meet net Zero we need to transform the way we build but the UK construction sector is poorly equipped to meet this need. The FE sector working with construction now needs to utilise Apprenticeships to develop the Next Generation Workforce with the capability to make these changes. Whilst sitting on a train thinking how to position this piece I Googled ‘What happens if we don’t reach net zero by 2050?’ Now I know that can be a dangerous thing to do and to be honest I think many of us try to avoid thinking about it so if you don’t want to know the answer then skip the words in italics but if you do then we will be facing wildfires, droughts, floods, crop failure, famine, mass migration and the worldwide destruction of ecosystems, communities and wildlife.I know, it is genuinely terrifying.I have worked in and around the UK construction sector pretty much since leaving school and as a sector, we have an awful lot of work to do to play our part in the drive towards net zero. The reality is that the built environment generates 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. Of those total emissions, building operations are responsible for 27%, while building and infrastructure materials and construction are responsible for an additional 13%. Putting it simply, we have to change the way we construct all of our buildings if we want to achieve net zero. Even this won’t be enough as it is estimated that 80% of the homes we will use in 2050 have already been built and are generating much of today’s carbon – we, therefore, need to also retrofit those buildings to be carbon friendly, estimated at around 25 million homes.So why am I banging on about this on a site dedicated to Further Education? Well, this is as much a challenge for the Education sector as it is for the Construction sector.CONSTRUCTION SECTOR CHALLENGEWe are all aware that the UK construction sector is not terribly diverse with 85% of the workforce being male and 32% aged over 50. If you look at those actually working on construction sites then the numbers are even less diverse with 98% being male. This makeup of the sector has been relatively unchanged for decades.The second point to note though is that this non-diverse workforce is in relatively short supply. Skills shortages in construction have been a major challenge for some time and there simply aren’t enough skilled construction workers to meet the current required output with the government repeatedly missing its house building targets. Many people reading this will be only too well aware of the challenges of getting good reliable tradesmen to even turn up let alone do some work.Finally, this workforce is poorly equipped to manage change and modernise, according to the recent Future.Now Digital Skills Gap report out of all the workplace sectors in the UK construction has the second lowest level of digital capability, second only to agriculture.We have a clear and present need to change the way we construct and use buildings in the UK. Failure to do so has implications that most of us don’t even want to contemplate. In situ to do this we have a non-diverse traditional ageing workforce who all have more than enough work to do and who are making good money doing what they know and understand and are poorly equipped to make the changes needed.Much of the discussion around the construction workforce has been around how the sector needs to do a better job of attracting young people to the sector. This is undoubtedly true currently less than 10% of the workforce are aged under 25 and in the recent City and Guilds Youth Misspent report only 6% of young people expressed an interest in working in construction. The Construction Industry Training Board has estimated that an extra 225,000 construction workers may be needed by 2027 just to meet current needs but at the moment there are only 26,000 people on construction Apprenticeships and experience suggests that only a...

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