Bricklayer says 'AI won't take our jobs' as new academy unveiled

7 hours ago

Caroline GallBBC News, West Midlands

News image — Ash Mahoney, with his father Andy, said picking bricklaying as a trade was a good career choice

Ash Mahoney Ash stands with his arm around his father possibly in a shop or builders warehouse as there are construction items stacked up and shelved behind them. Both have black t-shirts on and Ash has a cap on. — Ash Mahoney, with his father Andy, said picking bricklaying as a trade was a good career choice

Bricklayer Ash Mahoney said he always knew what trade he would go into and now running his own business, said it was a great career choice with earnings of £300 a day "and more at times".

It was rewarding work and "the harder you work, the more you learn" and can earn, the Birmingham businessman said, adding he was confident that it was a trade that would not be negatively impacted by AI.

A new construction skills academy for the region has been announced, to train the estimated 3,810 new workers needed each year.

The West Midlands Combined Authority and Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) signed an agreement this week to give young people access to new training and skills.

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and the CITB said their memorandum of understanding would help to bring about the academy, although the details of when and where have not yet been revealed.

It's one of the first partnerships under a national initiative by the CITB to create a "connected construction skills ecosystem" across England, and tackle the shortages forecast by the CITB.

Parker stands in between two apprentices at Dudley College of Technology. He is wearing a suit and florescent jacket. The male and female apprentices are looking at him with other students working in the background. — Announcing the £75m package of training last year, Parker said the region was 'heading into a construction boom that will power new jobs, new homes and new opportunities'

Mahoney, a former UK Bricklayer of the Year, followed his father into the industry at about 16 years of age said parents should absolutely be encouraging their children to learn a trade.

"The way things are changing, with AI coming in... everything is computerised now," he said.

"AI is taking over a hell of a lot of people's jobs, but this is certain [to be] one job that it will never be able to take over. Robots can't do what we do, basically."

The trade was "looked down upon", he said, but "if you put your heart and soul into it, you can earn more than what doctors do".

He said someone could learn the trade within a couple of years and then go onto gain more experience making it a "great career choice."

"If you can become quite a nippy bricklayer, we get paid £1 per brick, we lay over 1,000 bricks a day very easily," he said, adding that the money "gets split between the gang" working on the job.

Parker said he wanted the academy to capitalise on a construction boom in the region.

Last year, he promised up to £75m to train more than 12,000 people over the next three years to help tackle a shortage of construction workers.

"I want our young people to get access to the skills that will give them well-paid work for the rest of their lives," he told BBC Radio WM on Wednesday.

"AI is changing the dynamic but these are skills that are needed for decades to come."

Tim Balcon, chief executive of the CITB, said: "Addressing the construction industry's skills needs requires industry-wide collaboration, strong partnerships with central and local governments, and long-term commitment."

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