The survey shows that a record high of 60% of respondents are anticipating an increased workload for the upcoming year.
Specialist Contractors are seeing ‘tangible signs of more confidence in the industry’ with 34% intending to expand their business in the next quarter and 33% expecting to take on more employees.
However, with 26% of respondents also indicating that they are experiencing increasing difficulty recruiting good people – the highest it has been since Q2 2007 –many businesses may struggle to sustain this growth.
After five quarters of specialist contractors reporting an increase in enquiries peaking at 51% in Q3 2013, there was a slight decline in Q4 with it dropping back to 47%. Even fewer contractors are still reporting a decrease in enquiries, now down to 19%, the lowest decrease recorded since Q2 2006 with the resultant balance of enquiries at 28 points.
43% of respondents report an increase in orders, down from 49% last quarter and 26% report a decrease in orders, a marginal increase on last quarter. This has resulted in the balance of orders dropping by 7 to 17 points.
Members of the NSCC represent 7,000 specialist contractors from across the construction industry.
The results of the quarterly survey also reveal the extent to which the industry is still afflicted by the issue of late payment; 76% of respondents reported payment between 30 and 60 days. Telling comments from member firms included: “late payment is a killer” and “we have a good workload and repeat work but late payment means that our cashflow is always critical”.
NSCC chief executive Suzannah Nichol said: “Given the improved outlook for specialist contractors, it is more important than ever that we safeguard the long term growth of the industry by investing in our workforce and ensuring fair payment practices are implemented throughout the supply chain.”
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