Asbestos and the skills gap

The asbestos sector is unique within the built environment. The history of asbestos extends well beyond the 100 years that we are commonly aware of. It is known to be one of the most devastating workplace killers, with figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) demonstrating a current trend of approximately 5,000 deaths annually attributed to diseases caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. This paper looks at the highly specialised job roles that the industry struggles to attract fresh talent into. It summarises some of the statistics and make observations as to how asbestos continues to be a prevailing hazard affecting management, maintenance and modernisation of aging buildings across the UK. The aim is to continue to help educate the built environment sector about a unique culture of highly specialised persons that float between and around the realms of inspection, testing, certification, occupational hygiene, health and safety, and construction and demolition. The paper comments on the position of the industry in the current economic climate and proposes a change of attitude and understanding to progress and ensure the risk to human health posed by asbestos continues to be reduced and quality of service delivery improved.