There is a lot of doom and gloom out there at the moment. From news about the domestic implications of a second wave of covid-19 to its on-going global economic impact, it is all very sober reading and watching.

As I scroll through the stories, it is not lost on me that we are seeing similar headlines in the construction sector at the moment – the talk is about contractual disputes, lack of accountability, toxic supply chain relationships, falling productivity, redundancies and how construction cannot attract talent as it is not really an attractive place to work.

But while it is incontrovertible that covid-19 has had a horrendous health, social and economic toll, the real picture in construction is more nuanced and there is so much good going on.

Construction productivity only suffered a short-term dip and, in some areas, it is now higher than pre-covid levels, as contractors and consultants adopt more agile and innovative ways of working. While we should not underestimate the contractual fall-out, we have also seen pragmatic approaches by clients and the supply-chain, underpinned by clear guidance from the government. We were also one of the first sectors to launch a talent retention scheme. But no one tends to talk about these so much. 

This article originally appeared on Building on 15 October 2020 – read the full article.