AUDIO NEWS: UK's kindest plumber in hot water and skills crisis shows no sign of improvement
Posted: Friday, May 17th, 2024
James Anderson, widely described as ‘Britain’s kindest plumber’ for offering free services to vulnerable people has been accused of faking stories on social media to raise funds. Since 2019, Anderson and his community interest firm, Dephr has posted hundreds of stories about acts of kindness it claims to have carried out. According to the BBC, Anderson’s social media posts have brought in “at least £2 million in donations”. Anderson denied some of the BBC allegations but admitted he’d “made mistakes.” --- More than 251,000 extra construction workers are needed over the next five years to meet industry demand – that’s according to a report from the Construction Industry Training Board. CITB’s annual Construction Skills Network report also revealed that despite the industry recruiting 200,000 people every year, there are still an average of 38,000 vacancies advertised per month. Nearly a third of construction employers said that finding suitably skilled staff remains their key challenge, particularly as older workers continue to leave the sector. --- The cost of insulation board and timber is set to rise again this summer. The Construction Leadership Council’s Material Supply Chain Group flagged the cost increases in its latest update released this week. Timber price increases are being attributed to reduced production and stock, in a slowing market. Prices for PIR insulation boards have “increased significantly” due to issues around the supply of chemicals used in their manufacture and continued high demand. --- To listen to the construction news please click below
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