The Post-Recession Construction Industry Climate in the UK - Essay Example

Despite the recent financial and economic crisis that negatively impacted developed economies, the construction contracting industry in the UK remains ahead of the pack of the construction industry in Europe and thus the reason constructions firms seek to enter the market. Their objective is to tap into UK’s know-how in the industry so as to improve on their competitiveness. This follows its reputation for technology in construction services, including technological advancements, such as the Building Information Modelling, BIM, and architectural endowment (BIS 2013). Further to this, the number of graduates in the construction industry keeps growing, an indication of greater opportunities for growth in the future.

However, the UK still grapples with a trade deficit in the construction industry. BIS (2013) observe that in 2012, it had a trade deficit amounting to about £6.2 billion. It has been noted that a small portion of UK construction contractors is exporters as compared to the other sectors of the economy. Specifically, the 2012 statistics show that only about 6% of construction SMEs engaged in export trade. It was observed that a majority of these constructors lacked the knowledge of exports in construction, thus the trade deficit.  Moreover, UK contractors still face the challenge of having to deal with financial institutions which still perceive the construction industry as risky. This hinders them from accessing the requisite financial services.