SELECT Members have been urged to get on board with a new National Equity and Inclusion Plan (NEIP) for the construction industry in Scotland, which encourages the development of a more diverse and all-encompassing workforce.

Launched by the Construction Leadership Forum (CLF) and funded by Scottish Government, the initiative is part of a wider transformation plan to help give the sector access to a wider talent pool to support growth and address labour shortages.

In the construction industry in Scotland 15.4% are women, and there is a gender pay gap of 23%. Some 1.6% of workers in the sector are from a minority ethnic background compared with 4.3% of minority ethnic workers in Scotland as a whole.

Figures show 10.5% of the workforce are disabled, 33% of construction workforce are aged 50+ with only 2.7% of starts in Modern Apprentices female.

The NEIP seeks to address these imbalances by mainstreaming equity and inclusion and sets out 'Six by 2026' strategic aims which the CLF commits to work with industry to achieve.

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These include the sharing of best practice across industry, using data and industry feedback to benchmark progress, signposting to a range of resources for companies to access and development of industry-wide E&I accreditation.

Fiona Harper, Director of Employment & Skills at SELECT, said: "We welcome this new Plan and would encourage all our members to study its objectives and think how they can get involved to achieve 'Six by 2026'.

"It's essential for our industry to reflect today's wider society and we must embrace equity and inclusion in all parts of the construction sector."

The Plan was developed following an in-depth study by GenAnalytics which looked at the challenges and current state of play and what current best practice there is from inside and outside the sector.

It was informed by a wide stakeholder group including E&I experts, industry and government and found that construction falls way short of equity and inclusion standards compared to other sectors and identified a number of sector-specific issues to be addressed by the Plan.

Business Minister and Construction Leadership Forum chair Ivan McKee said: "I recognise that we face new economic and social challenges of an unprecedented scale. This plan aims to support wider efforts to address inequality and promote greater diversity within the Scottish construction sector to encourage inclusive growth and help address labour shortages.

"Companies with better records of fair work, equity and inclusion do better, have a healthier and more engaged workforce and demonstrate greater diversity of thought. Fairness and inclusiveness encourages better relations with partners, shareholders, customers and employees.

"It will help support the increased resilience of construction and reinforce wider efforts to create a more sustainable economy, in line with the Scottish Government's National Strategy for Economic Transformation."