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Almost eight million British employees will resolve to leave their job in 2016, according to a new report.

The survey, carried out by CV Library, found that one quarter of the current 31.2 million workers in the UK will make the New Year’s resolution to find a new career, and quit their current role. What’s more, the report also found that vowing to go to the gym has been seemingly replaced with more work-related hopes as 54% of the 3,300 employees surveyed claimed they planned to make a job-related promise.

46% admitted they were ready for a new job in 2016, which is hardly surprising since almost one third of workers questioned said they return to work after the Christmas holidays feeling unhappy about their employment.

Lee Biggins, Founder and Managing Director of CV-Library, explained what these results could mean for the UK jobs market. He said: “Businesses need to be prepared to pull out all the stops in 2016.

“They’ll need to work hard to hold on to talented employees, as well as fighting to draw in the best new candidates.

“With workers choosing to leave their jobs in 2016 in the knowledge that they hold all the cards, employers have a challenge ahead of them when it comes to January. However, ensuring that workers feel valued and supported is a good place to start.

When you have a spare three minutes this video Crossrail have released is worth a watch its fascinating.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ok77gPdXo&feature=youtu.be

Construction in central London has added billions of pounds to the UK economy, new research commissioned by some of the city’s most powerful property developers has revealed.

According to the study by consultancy Deloitte, construction activity in 11 inner-London boroughs added around £6.2bn to the economy in 2013.

The report, Supporting development, enabling growth, pinpoints further contributions of £3.3bn in ‘indirect’ effects from demands on supply chains, and £2.9bn from ‘induced’ gains from increased household spending as a result of construction.

“Property development is a major activity in London, drawing in investment and producing new architecture,” London School of Economics professor Tony Travers writes in the report.

“The economic sectors which depend on the strength of construction extend from developers and architects through to crane manufacturers and brickmakers.”

The research has been commissioned and released alongside a list of demands by the Westminster Property Association and the City Property Association, whose members claim 85 per cent of construction activity in inner London.

In their “manifesto for the mayor”, the associations urge the successful candidate in next May’s mayoral elections to reverse a trend in the city centre that has seen commercial space replaced by residential units.

Westminster alone has “lost” 4.4m sq ft of office space, according to the associations, which have extensive commercial interests in inner London.

They argue the mayor should help tackle affordability by fighting to keep receipts from Right to Buy sales in the city.

The associations also urge the next mayor to encourage the government to axe or relax borrowing limits on council housing budgets, a move they say will allow boroughs to build more homes.

The new mayor should also help address the shortage of tradespeople, which the associations see as a “key reason for the lack of homes and office space”.

“We call for the mayor to work with the associations and industry to help promote and co-ordinate the right training and support for young people and workers of all ages and backgrounds…to provide [them] with the skills…to build London’s future”, they said in a statement.

City Property Association president Rob Samuel described central London as “the economic powerhouse” of the city and the “entire United Kingdom”.

“Our manifesto for the next mayor outlines the key areas where we believe that our industriy, and the mayor, can work together to deliver housing, office and leisure space for the capital to continue to thrive as a global city.”

The route was revealed as TfL launched its third public consultation, with the organisation keen to get approval for the project next year.
If the project is given the green light, construction could begin as early as 2020, with the first trains running by 2030.
TfL’s new plans include a number of amendments such as a new section between New Southgate and Seven Sisters that would see trains stop at Wood Green instead of Alexandra Palace and Turnpike Lake.

Source: TfL
The plans also include a new section between Clapham Junction and Wimbledon, with trains stopping in Balham rather than Tooting Broadway.
Crossrail 2 would serve central London through 32 km of twin tunnels between Wimbledon in the south and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate in the north, connecting with existing national rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire.
Two previous TfL consultations on the project have seen it receive overwhelming support from local residents and businesses.
TfL will now seek views on proposed station locations, construction sites and service patterns. The consultation will close on 8 January.
Crossrail 2 managing director Michele Dix said: “This consultation gives people the chance to comment on where we are proposing to put station entrances, work sites and ventilation shafts needed to run Crossrail 2.
“As development of this vital railway continues, we will be taking on board feedback from the consultation to progress the designs for the project, so that we can open the railway by 2030.”

The London Bridge redevelopment is one of the most complex projects undertaken by Network Rail.

The fascinating video below documents Network Rail, Costain and specialist contractor Prater as they discuss challenges faced, 4D-modelling, off-site manufacturing and pioneering new construction methods, including a timelapse of the project team assembling a full-scale prototype of a platform section at London Bridge.

Source: Prater
The team were able to construct, disassemble and re-construct the prototype in order to root our any potential on-site issues beforehand, a process that played an integral part in the successful delivery of the first phase of works.

Demand for recruitment services has never been so great, with skilled workers in particular being highly sought after. This has placed increased pressure on recruitment agencies as companies compete to attract the top candidates.

The good news, according to the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), is confidence in UK recruitment firms remains high. It found that recruitment agencies had a net satisfaction rating of 93% in July 2015 illustrating just how well they are performing amidst the pressure of heightened demand. In addition, the REC reported that 89% of hirers are satisfied with the quality of candidates being presented.

The REC’s report on jobs also found that 74% of employers believe that economic conditions, domestically, are improving and that 86% of hirers plan to add permanent headcount over the next quarter, whilst 79% plan to do so in the medium term. Eight in ten hirers are using agency workers to gain short-term access to key strategic skills.

Intersect Global are seeking both permanent and contract candidates for a range of QS, Commercial Management, Project Management, Site Management and Site Engineering roles for long list of employers in the Civil Engineering and Construction Sectors.
If you are considering a career move or looking for your next assignment please call us for a confidential chat today on 020 76820668. To be made aware of the latest vacancies as they arise register on our specialist site www.intersectglobalco.uk

Network Rail has set out the first stage of planning for Crossrail 2 after issuing a tender for a £60m consultancy contract.

The rail operator is looking for a firm to undertake design and consultancy services for the ‘On Network’ element of the upcoming Crossrail 2 project, according to an OJEU notice.

The ‘On Network’ sections include areas in south-west and north-east London where Crossrail 2 could potentially link to the existing rail network.

The core Crossrail 2 route – the underground section between Wimbledon in the south and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate in the north – will be the responsibility of Transport for London.

Network Rail is seeking a consultant to undertake an assessment of the construction and operational environmental impacts of the potential Crossrail 2 route, as well as identifying the scope of works needed to protect or divert utilities.

Additionally, the contract sets out plans to identify which land on the route will need to be acquired and used for construction and operation of the Crossrail 2 network.

The consultant will also develop cost, programme and risk forecasts for Network Rail, and will be expected to “effectively engage with stakeholders to garner support for the scheme.”

According to the OJEU documents, a delivery model and delivery strategy for Crossrail 2 will be established in late 2017.

The consultancy contract has an initial estimated value of between £30m and £60m, with the potential for an additional pre-delivery extension of between £25m and £50m.

Mayor Boris Johnson has set-up the Crossrail 2 Growth Commission to promote plans for the £20bn project.

Business leaders are also backing the scheme and are calling on the Government to use the current Comprehensive Spending Review to provide the development funding needed to start building Crossrail 2 early in the next decade.

An open letter to a national newspaper backing the scheme was signed by the chief executives of Morgan Sindall, Mace and Turner & Townsend.

The Commission will help maximise the benefit of the new railway by bringing together the London boroughs, county councils outside London and other key business and development stakeholders along the route to work together on how the railway can best support housing and job creation.

Johnson said: “Major projects take time to plan and prepare and with Crossrail 1 nearing completion, we must move quickly to the next transformational growth project which could see even more benefits delivered.

“Crossrail 2 will support up to 200,000 more homes and jobs, adding billions of pounds to the national economy and ensuing a prosperous future for the whole country.”

Crossrail 2 will support the UK engineering, construction and manufacturing sectors with a supply chain stretching across the UK, potentially supporting around 60,000 full time jobs.

This is in addition to the 18,000 who will be employed directly during the peak of construction and over 1,300 new jobs that will be created to operate Crossrail 2.

Sir Merrick Cockell, Chairman of the Crossrail 2 Growth Commission, said: “This new railway is imperative to the future growth of the Capital and across the UK and the Growth Commission will play a key role in helping ensure local development plans along the route meet their full potential.”

A public consultation will begin in the autumn, providing more information on the scheme including locations for work sites and station entrances.

Your LinkedIn photo has the potential to make a prospective employer trust you.

So, how do you secure this trust? Look a little happy.

The emphasis is on ‘a little’ though.

Research from New York University has discovered that people with positive expressions such as upturned eyebrows, or an upwardly curving mouth, have a higher likelihood of being perceived as trustworthy.

Angrier expressions, such as a furrowed brow or a frown, are seen as untrustworthy.

Unfortunately, the study found that you can’t do much to change how you appear, as your appearance depends largely on your facial structure, which is unalterable: “perceived ability is more fixed and tied to the face’s static structure,” said the study.