Construction is UK?s biggest industry, employing 2.2 million people in 700 varied jobs. According to industry forecasts, the need for skilled labour in the construction sector is likely to jump sharply to 2.8 million by 2010 to meet an escalation in orders.

This escalation is limited to the public sector, more specifically to non-housing and infrastructure. Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that construction industry output fell 15% in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period last year.

The public non-housing sector showed a 26% increase in output in the second quarter of 2009 compared to last year and the infrastructure output rose by 7% compared to the same period last year. These two sectors have been able to buck the trend due to increased Government spending on major rail and road projects. The future prospects are also good, with some sources putting the figure at a 13% rise in output for 2010.

The comparatively better forecast for these two sectors are fuelled by hi-profile projects like the 2012 Olympic Games, the development of the Thames Gateway corridor to East London, big port projects at Shellhaven, Harwich and Felixstowe, the extension of the East London underground line, redevelopment work around the Victoria and King Cross stations.

Additionally, a series of big builds such as the City Hall in London, the National Space centre in Leicester, the SECC in Glasgow, Whitelee Wind Farm in Eaglesham Moor, the Cairngorm Funicular Railway Project and many more has caused demand for skilled workers to spiral.

This opens up a doorway for engineering jobs, especially mechanical engineering jobs, electrical engineering jobs and so on.

With work to begin on the Crossrail Tunnel Projects and with major companies like Balfour Beatty, Morgan Est, BAM, Ferrovial and Kier in the fray to grab the plum contracts, construction job opportunities in the public infrastructure sector seem to be opening up with speed.

With the recession showing no signs of abating, the Government is committed to keeping up capital investments and fiscal stimuli in the public construction sector. So we can safely say that future prospects for jobs in the construction industry, especially infrastructure, appear to be bright.