What is it?

Construction is a wide and varied sector including specialisms such as 

• Trowel occupations
• RoofingW
• Wood occupations
• Interiors
• Technical Support
• Demolition
• Professional occupations such as building surveying

Facts and figures

• Construction sector accounts for 4% of employment in Sussex (around 25,000 employees)
• 7,000 establishments in this sector (11% of all those in Sussex) with 95% of them being ’micro businesses’ employing between one and ten people
• 62% of workers in this sector do not have qualifications at Level 2 (GCSE grade A*-C) or above, compared with 40% of all workers
• construction workers are more likely to be self-employed than workers in all other industries (47% compared with 17%)
• Employment in this sector is relatively volatile and large-scale projects can have a major impact.
  source: Sussex Enterprise

Employers in Sussex

Large employers include ROK and Bryant Homes but most employers (95%) are small businesses with 1 to10 employees.

Higher education qualifications suitable for the sector

• foundation degrees such as Construction - Architectural Technology, Construction - Building Surveying, Construction - Site Management
• undergraduate degrees such as BSc Building Studies, BSc Construction Management
• postgraduate degrees such as MSc Project Management for Construction, MSc Sustainability of the Built Environment

Here we are focusing on higher education but there are many other qualifications and routes to study available including NVQs, Apprenticeships and BTEC awards. Talk to your local college or private training provider about what's available.

Where to study in Sussex

• University of Brighton

• Hastings College of Arts & Technology

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