Skills shortage risks making workplaces more dangerous, RoSpa warns

The skills shortages the civil engineering and construction industries are experiencing risk making workplaces more hazardous, a new report from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has warned. Authored in partnership with Speedy Hire, the report explores the role that whole workforce competence plays in organisational safety, productivity and resilience. RoSPA’s Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Skills Commission, who put the report together, aims to understand the context behind many of the current concerns being raised by RoSPA members and the wider OSH. This context includes fragmented training and skills pathways, deteriorating worker health and wellbeing and current competencies being outpaced by emerging risks such as AI and an ageing workforce. The newly published report, Protecting workforce competence for safer, healthier workplaces, summarises the findings of five roundtables chaired by RoSPA. During these discussions, the following themes emerged: - Job-readiness and early-careers learning - Flexibility, life course fit and workforce stability - Leadership, management and trust - Honest work design and role clarity - Human capability with technology and AI Based on the experiences and evidence gathered for the report, RoSPA is now making the case for recognising whole workforce competence as a “core organisational asset and a precondition for safer, healthier and more productive work”. Key priorities include the need to create the conditions where workers can gain meaningful early-career experience and also hone judgement through exposure and shadowing senior colleagues, RoSPA said. The society further stated how it is vital employees continue learning throughout their working life. The consequences of failing to focus on skill development extends beyond safety, according to the society. These consequences can include skills gaps magnifying workloads, organisational decision making and psychological safety being undermined and introduce avoidable risks. As a result, RoSPA has determined that investing in competence is “a national economic imperative”. The report states: “Competent workforces are more adaptable and better able to respond to change, qualities that are essential as the UK workforce faces growing pressure associated with technological and demographic shifts.” RoSPA vice president and head commissioner Christine Crawley said: “The OSH Skills Commission was formed in response to a sector in crisis. “Yet however daunting challenges such as widening skill gaps and increasing workloads may seem, the innovative ideas and sense of purpose shared at the roundtables and now presented in this report means I am confident OSH professionals can not only overcome them but transform them into opportunities for improving health and safety in the future.” She added: “The issues in this report are complex but a simple message emerges – good health and safety is good business.” Like what you've read? To receive New Civil Engineer's daily and weekly newsletters click here. Have your say or a new account to join the discussion.