Construction
According to Construction Skills, construction is the single biggest industry in the UK, turning over more than £80 billion of business each year and employing 1 in 14 of the total workforce. The Sector Skills Council for Construction claims it has a global reputation for world class design, inspired architecture and the highest quality building. About 35 percent of construction workers are self-employed and almost 90,000 people join the industry every year.
The construction industry covers a wide range of business interests and activities, united by their common usage and development of land. It is comprised of clients such as house-builders and commercial property developers, designers, material and component suppliers and contractors who do the building. Because of the UK's island status, there is not the same level of cross-border competition here as other parts of the world, however UK designers, civil engineers, contractors, component & product manufacturers have a worldwide reputation for working overseas, providing high-tech solutions to environmental, transport & building projects.
Property & Surveying
Rather like members of the freemasons, it can be difficult for chartered surveyors to briefly describe what they actually do. This is not because they share many similarities with the secret organisation (although the origins of the freemasons are also in the building trade) but because surveyors do many different things.
From building valuation and commercial property management to dispute resolution or even antique and fine art valuation, a qualified chartered surveyor can work in many areas.Broadly described as ‘property professionals’, chartered surveyors deal with the assessment and management of physical assets. The best definition is probably that surveyors are concerned with the valuation, development, management and use of land and property. It is unfair to stereotype all surveyors as wearing hard hats and bright yellow jackets, but that is not to say you won’t end up in a building site peering through measuring instruments. On the other hand, depending on the career path you choose, you could just as easily find yourself working in an auction house or in Africa, mapping rivers.