As you’ll be aware, each quarter we ask members to participate in our State of Trade Survey to provide insight into current and expected industry trends. This insight is crucial to us so that we can ensure that our travel of direction continues to meet member needs, taking into consideration current and future opportunities and perceived challenges.

The 2018 Q3 Survey reinforces that apprenticeships are crucial to many of our members and that private housing remains the most important sector. It has also echoed previous survey results, with members feeding back that currently demand and availability of workforce is a real obstacle to growth plans for 2019.

The good news is that the majority of members have experienced a growth is sales volumes as well as investing in a programme of research & development or product improvement. We have noted concerns on rising units costs and we’ll work with partner trade bodies to ensure that member views are represented and to influence proposals.

To download a pdf of the results, please click here.