AI Competency for the Construction Sector
Call to Action in the Construction Sector
The UK construction industry faces significant challenges in adopting and leveraging AI technologies, creating a pressing need for Atlas, an AI Training and Learning Specialist Agent. This need is supported by several research insights:
1. High expectations: 76% of senior construction and engineering decision-makers at large UK firms have high expectations for AI, with 68% believing their industry is adopting AI faster than others[1][2].
2. Skills gap: Over a third (36%) of respondents rate the quality of AI skills in their business as merely passable, indicating a substantial gap between AI aspirations and current capabilities[1][2].
3. Lack of upskilling priority: More than a quarter (27%) of firms do not prioritize upskilling, which is crucial for effective AI implementation[1][3].
4. Legacy technology barriers: 42% of respondents identified their legacy-based technology landscape as a factor slowing AI adoption and deployment[2].
5. Uncertain use cases: 41% expressed uncertainty about potential AI use cases within their business, highlighting the need for clearer strategic direction[2].
6. Talent shortage: The construction industry recruited 200,000 new workers in the UK last year but experienced a net talent loss of 210,000, exacerbating the skills gap[5].
7. AI as a solution: 36% of industry leaders see AI as a key tool for supplementing the skills gap and managing workloads on smaller teams[5][6].
Atlas based on [8] offers a scalable, cost-effective option for AI competency development in the construction sector, but it needs to be aligned with industry priorities. While 36% of firms have developed clear AI strategies and are seeing tangible results, 31% are still in the proposal-gathering stage for pilot projects, and another 31% are in the research phase[1][2].
To address these challenges and opportunities, industry leaders are hosting online meet-ups in December 2024 and January 2025 to discuss the sector's next steps in addressing the AI skills gap. Join the conversation to shape the future of AI skills development in the construction industry: calendly.com/josephconnor-carefulai/thursday-1000-1030
Citations:
[1] https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/digital-construction-news/construction-technology-news/ai-uk-construction-opportunities-challenges-path-forward/141828/
[2] https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/digital-construction-news/ai-construction-embraced-uk-despite-challenges/140628/
[3] https://www.fmj.co.uk/uk-construction-sector-holds-high-expectation-for-ai-but-obstacles-are-slowing-adoption/
[4] https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2024/06/19/construction-firms-want-ai-but-can-they-break-down-the-barriers-for-adoption/
[5] https://www.bimplus.co.uk/addressing-the-skills-shortage-ai-can-transform-construction/
[6] https://www.techradar.com/pro/bridging-the-talent-gap-harnessing-ai-to-transform-the-construction-industry
[7] https://www.randstad.co.uk/market-insights/future-work/ai-construction/
[8] AI Skills for Business Competency Framework & Resources. Author Alan Turing Institute
https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/ai-skills-for-business-competency-framework-and-resources/
Citation: https://zenodo.org/records/11092677, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
The UK construction industry faces significant challenges in adopting and leveraging AI technologies, creating a pressing need for Atlas, an AI Training and Learning Specialist Agent. This need is supported by several research insights:
1. High expectations: 76% of senior construction and engineering decision-makers at large UK firms have high expectations for AI, with 68% believing their industry is adopting AI faster than others[1][2].
2. Skills gap: Over a third (36%) of respondents rate the quality of AI skills in their business as merely passable, indicating a substantial gap between AI aspirations and current capabilities[1][2].
3. Lack of upskilling priority: More than a quarter (27%) of firms do not prioritize upskilling, which is crucial for effective AI implementation[1][3].
4. Legacy technology barriers: 42% of respondents identified their legacy-based technology landscape as a factor slowing AI adoption and deployment[2].
5. Uncertain use cases: 41% expressed uncertainty about potential AI use cases within their business, highlighting the need for clearer strategic direction[2].
6. Talent shortage: The construction industry recruited 200,000 new workers in the UK last year but experienced a net talent loss of 210,000, exacerbating the skills gap[5].
7. AI as a solution: 36% of industry leaders see AI as a key tool for supplementing the skills gap and managing workloads on smaller teams[5][6].
Atlas based on [8] offers a scalable, cost-effective option for AI competency development in the construction sector, but it needs to be aligned with industry priorities. While 36% of firms have developed clear AI strategies and are seeing tangible results, 31% are still in the proposal-gathering stage for pilot projects, and another 31% are in the research phase[1][2].
To address these challenges and opportunities, industry leaders are hosting online meet-ups in December 2024 and January 2025 to discuss the sector's next steps in addressing the AI skills gap. Join the conversation to shape the future of AI skills development in the construction industry: calendly.com/josephconnor-carefulai/thursday-1000-1030
Citations:
[1] https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/digital-construction-news/construction-technology-news/ai-uk-construction-opportunities-challenges-path-forward/141828/
[2] https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/digital-construction-news/ai-construction-embraced-uk-despite-challenges/140628/
[3] https://www.fmj.co.uk/uk-construction-sector-holds-high-expectation-for-ai-but-obstacles-are-slowing-adoption/
[4] https://www.enterprisetimes.co.uk/2024/06/19/construction-firms-want-ai-but-can-they-break-down-the-barriers-for-adoption/
[5] https://www.bimplus.co.uk/addressing-the-skills-shortage-ai-can-transform-construction/
[6] https://www.techradar.com/pro/bridging-the-talent-gap-harnessing-ai-to-transform-the-construction-industry
[7] https://www.randstad.co.uk/market-insights/future-work/ai-construction/
[8] AI Skills for Business Competency Framework & Resources. Author Alan Turing Institute
https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/opportunities/ai-skills-for-business-competency-framework-and-resources/
Citation: https://zenodo.org/records/11092677, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
Please note the version of Atlas shown below is for test purposes only. If you wish to save a copy of the plan created please copy paste the plan as needed. The deployed version of Atlas sits on a hosts systems. This is for information governance purposes.
