Why the Construction Industry is looking for growth overseas

(This is an article I wrote for the UKTI’s Autumn 2010 edition of Springboard Magazine)

The UK construction industry is simply huge. Employing some 3 million people across a multitude of disciplines in more than 300,000 different companies, the industry has an annual turnover of more than £100bn and accounts for almost 10 per cent of the UK’s GDP. And despite being one of the sectors hardest hit by the recent economic downturn, output in the construction industry experienced its biggest rise since 1963 in the second quarter of 2010 with a jump of 6.6 per cent on the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics.

With such a dramatic rebound from what had been a poor start to the year the construction industry’s performance has exceeded even the most optimistic forecasts from economists -stimulated by strong performances reported from some of the UK’s biggest construction firms.

Industry Guide Part 2: Legal

Part 2 of our insight into the Legal profession takes a look at the qualifications and skills that employers look for in a candidate for a wide variety of roles, what makes a good legal CV, interview preperation, and what career goals you should set yourself in your new legal career.

Industry Guide Part 1: Legal

Why would you want to work in the Legal sector?

A career in the legal profession is not all about pacing up and down packed courtrooms, delivering dramatic speeches that would guarantee your place in the World’s Greatest Orators of all Time list and make even the great Sir Laurence Olivier in his heyday bow down to you in admiration. And then when you have finished banging the world to rights you slip off and enjoy your cognac and cigar. Alright this may happen on that rarest of occasions but in the main, a legal career is much more routine that that, even at the higher echelons of the legal tree.

Industry Guides

In the wake of last week’s ‘A’ level results and today’s GCSE’s results many students will be deliberating their future direction. With some 200,000 students expected to miss out on a place at university this year and an increasing number of school leavers feeling relatively despondent and uncertain of their career prospects – even if they choose to continue with their education, many people will be re-evaluating their career choices and may even be re-considering what other options may be open to them.

Last year I was commissioned by Monster (Europe) to produce a series of some 30+ careers eBooks covering a wide range of industry sectors. So, with their permission, I will be serialising these on this blog over the next few weeks – the intention of which is to give job seekers an insight into different sectors and an understanding of how they can get their foot in the door of some of the most sought-after professions - irrespective of whether they have a university degree or not.

Paul