Regulation for survival: training and skills in the construction labour market in Jersey, Channel Islands

Abstract

There is a crisis in the vocational training provision of the Channel Island of Jersey's construction industry that has similarities with the British situation. Unavailability and inappropriateness of skills, the non-viability of current training and recruitment policies on the island, the fragmentation of the training infrastructure, the demand-driven and task- or job-specific nature of training, the Jersey-born and male focus of recruitment and the uncoordinated, traditional and short-term approach of the local construction industry towards promotion and financing of training provision were found to be working against the industry's long-term needs and restricting its ability to respond to the variability of the production process. In contrast, a structured training policy incorporating the needs of both education and industry (employee and employer) and holding a long-term vision should enable the construction industry of Jersey to reverse the downward spiral.