Addressing Edinburgh and South East Scotland's Construction Skills shortfall

About the Project

The proposed research will support the development and delivery of the Housing Construction and Infrastructure Skills Gateway. Its aim will be to develop a regional level strategy to address the regional skills shortage in sectors relating to Construction and the Built Environment with a focus on Net Zero, Housing and Retrofit activities and to monitor it impact.

The HCI Skills Gateway will targeting those typically underrepresented in the construction sector, these include female, BAME, LGBTQ+ and other demographics who traditionally do not consider careers in construction. In addition to these groups, the project will provide opportunities to achieve higher levels and to progress into secure, well-paying jobs for those in poverty, ex-offenders, veterans and the long term out of work.

Core activities and interventions will be delivered via a series of workstreams broadly aligned to support all ages and aspirations, from early learners to advanced skills and qualifications. Strategic areas of focus across the region will be:

1. Supply of affordable housing
2. Retrofit of existing housing stock
3. Creation and operation of infrastructure which contributes to Net Zero targets

An innovative feature of the project will be a planned, industry driven apprenticeship program where apprentices complete consecutive placements, working and learning across the sector whilst based in leading built environment businesses, whilst gaining a higher education qualification and earning a salary from day one. This feature will adopt an already successful initiative, adapting it for the Edinburgh and Southeast Scotland region with support from industry partners.

The planned outcomes resulting from the proposed £17.5m of investment will be 35,000 construction related skills improvements across the region by project end with over 50% of these benefitting women and those from underrepresented demographics. The project will align with the wider aims of IRES 2027+ by providing access to employment and skills opportunities in the construction sector and will have a strong focus on inclusion, collaboration and long term impact across the region.

Academic qualifications

Have, or expect to achieve by the time of start of the studentship a first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level, ideally in Teaching, Project Management, Social Sciences or equivalent with a good fundamental knowledge of Skills development, Local Regional Authorities, Scottish Government, Scottish Educational Framework, FE/ HE Landscape, Training Provision.

English language requirement

IELTS score must be at least 6.5 (with not less than 6.0 in each of the four components). Other, equivalent qualifications will be accepted. Full details of the University’s policy are available online.

Essential attributes:

• Knowledge of Scottish Education and Skills Development
• Only a first-class honours degree, or a distinction at master level in a subject relevant to the PhD project will be considered, or equivalent achievements.

Desirable attributes:

• Construction and Built Environment Sector
• Practical experience in research or industry will be considered an advantage.

APPLICATION CHECKLIST

• Completed application form
• CV
• 2 academic references, using the Postgraduate Educational Reference Form (download)
• Research project outline of 2 pages (list of references excluded). The outline may provide details about:
  1. Background and motivation of the project. The motivation, explaining the importance of the project, should be supported also by relevant literature. You can also discuss the applications you expect for the project results.
  2. Research questions or objectives.
  3. Methodology: types of data to be used, approach to data collection, and data analysis methods.
  4. List of references.

The outline must be created solely by the applicant. Supervisors can only offer general discussions about the project idea without providing any additional support.

• Statement no longer than 1 page describing your motivations and fit with the project.
• Evidence of proficiency in English (if appropriate)

To be considered, the application must use

• the advertised title as project title

For informal enquiries about this PhD project, please contact Dr Kenneth Leitch email K.Leitch@napier.ac.uk