Concern over Scots building jobs

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Concerns that thousands of jobs could be lost in Scotland's construction industry due to the recent downturn in the housing market have been raised.

Several of the UK's biggest builders said a growing number of new-build houses were failing to sell - and jobs would have to go as a result.

Construction firm Barratt said the number of new homes it built and sold in 2007 was down by 14%.

It plans to merge offices in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, shedding about 40 jobs.

A company spokesman said it did not foresee any improvement in the housing market downturn.

Social housing

Hundreds of housebuilding job cuts across the UK have previously been announced by Bovis Homes, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon as firms outline efforts to combat the property slump.

Michael Levack, chief executive of the Scottish Building Federation, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that the Scottish Government could help the industry by speeding up its big building projects - including a promise of 35,000 new homes to be allocated as social housing for rent.

He said: "We've constantly called for a very efficient public sector procurement, and that is what the SNP in their manifesto promised us.

"Hopefully they will be good to their promise and ensure that the significant infrastructure investment programme they've announced is brought forward swiftly to avoid the industry taking a step back 10 years."

Hugh Mcafferty, area manager for Construction Skills apprenticeship, added that the government had to start building social housing for rent soon.

He said many private firms hoped to gain contracts with local authorities on infrastructure work, which would in turn provide places for many apprentices who had been left out of work.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, he said: "We are making every effort to keep our numbers up as high as we can this year.

"We are hopeful of getting away with a 10% reduction this year, but we want to keep numbers up.

"We would say to young people that a job in construction is a future - there may be a blip at the moment, but there are many youngsters applying to us and we hope that continues."