ALMOST 30,000 new construction jobs are to be created in Scotland in the next five years, according to industry estimates.
CITB, the training organisation for the sector, said the growth would be fuelled by demand in the private housing sector, while infrastructure and industrial projects would also add to the creation of posts. The total number of jobs is expected to grow by 29,800.
The Scottish Government's Help to Buy policy, a mortgage guarantee scheme that allows buyers to get up to 20% off the purchase price of a new-build property, is thought to have helped boost the sector, while there are also key housing projects under way, including a £100 million eco-village in Aberdeen and a £1.5 billion sustainable housing development in Douglas Valley.
However, output fell in 2011 and 2012 and the research suggested average output over the next five years will be slightly lower than across the UK.
Graeme Ogilvy, Scotland Director for CITB, said: "The figures are both encouraging and challenging.
"The positive news for industry is that unemployment fell faster in Scotland in 2013 than anywhere else in the UK, however as an industry with the highest level of hard-to-fill vacancies, the onus is on ensuring there is a trained and highly qualified workforce ready to fill almost 30,000 vacancies over the next five years.
"Projected growth across Scotland's private housing sector growth will be pivotal to the industry's growth over the next five years and we note the early success of the Scottish Government's Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme since its introduction."
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