The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in construction and its effect on the skills gap – both positive and negative – will be one of the key topics of conversation at next month’s UK Construction Week London, which returns to ExCeL from May 7th to 9th.
Amongst the 300+ talks, seminars and workshops will be a Main Stage discussion on Thursday May 8th at 2pm, titled ‘Skills Gap or Tech Takeover: The Future of Construction’s Workforce’. Speakers include Bradley Webster, director of transformation at Baily Garner, and David Flynn, co-founder of Kope.ai .
Bradley Webster, managing partner of Baily Garner comments: “The future of the construction industry will be inseparable from the growth and implementation of AI. We are on our own journey of adoption at Baily Garner, but our industry as a whole faces a critical need to supplement its resources amid a long running skills shortage. This is especially true if we are to achieve the UK government’s target to build 1.5 million homes by 2030, but AI will also play a key role in helping us collate and analyse data on existing buildings. Building more homes and improving the country’s schools and hospitals are ambitions we can all agree on. Forums like UK Construction Week provide an important space for us to exchange ideas on how we can leverage AI to achieve them.”
UKCW advisory board member, Anne Daw, head of MMC delivery, HLM architects, adds: “AI has the potential to dramatically increase productivity in design and construction – particularly if it is used as a tool to assist, rather than as a replacement for a skilled and experienced workforce. We need to improve our recruitment and retention of new talent into the construction sector. It could turn out that AI helps us to do that by reducing the difficult, repetitive, or dangerous tasks that keep people from considering construction as a career. As a practice, HLM regularly invests in digital technology innovation that supports our design approach, enhancing client experiences and positioning us as an industry leader.”
UKCW will hold other key seminars which focus on AI and skills. These include Generative AI – Live Demo (Wednesday, 10:30am), ‘Addressing the Digital Skills Gap – Getting People onboard with Digital Transformation’ (Wednesday 12:30pm), ‘Mastering RFP Evaluations with AI: Real-Time Scoring in Minutes’ (Thursday 12:30pm), ‘AEC Innovation: Driving the Future of Learning & Technology’ (Thursday 4pm), ‘AI’s role in building a sustainable digital future - Women in BIM Panel’ (Friday 11:30am), and ‘The CIOB Playbook for a Smarter Future’ (Friday 1pm).
Neil Gaisford, divisional director, construction at UKCW insists: “The construction sector cannot ignore the rise of AI, and it’s vital that everyone embraces change and takes advantage of the benefits. At UKCW we’ll be exploring a range of AI-related topics to ensure visitors stay ahead of the curve.”
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