The construction industry is a hustle and bustle of activities whose contribution to the economy is enormous. In the scope of the construction industry, success is measured depending on the business volume. While this outlook may indicate the importance of a construction company in its predefined market, breaking even is a more relevant determinant of success. The sole pursuit of size without a significant increase in profitability places the financial viability of the firm at jeopardy.

The UK construction industry is a very dynamic environment that is highly fragmented as per the market conditions (Barthorpe, Duncan and miller, 2000). According to wolstentholme, 2009, the structure of the industry is dominated by SMES, In Fact, the industry resembles the market-oriented companies who focus on product rather than client needs (Cameron and Quinn, 2006). The segmentations are attributed to the many traders in the industry and the short-run contract based roles. Also, the fact that the industry directs greater effort on profit over client needs and at the same time emphasising on gaining short-term contacts that are highly competitive. (Dainty, Grugulis and Langfor, 2007). The industry is predominantly masculine in nature because the sector is inherently male dominated with worker placement done in an apparently competitive and unsupportive environment. Consequently, this tends to exacerbate the image of the industry both within the borders and on the international front (Latham, 1994). Gale (1992) argues that this damages the industry since it deters minorities like females from entering the industry.

According to Dainty et al. (2007), giant construction companies have changed tactics to now employing workers on a contract basis, with few opting to employ on permanent terms. An accolade can be given to the few firms that have in the wake of the years 2010 and 2011 won the queen’s award for enterprise as a sign of honor for their effort in ensuring gender parity economy with ethnical diversity and career advancement opportunities at the workplace.

DFEE, 2000 attempted to investigate the profile of both current and future skills demand and reported an increase in soft skill staff comprising of managers, professional and customer-oriented staff. The industry also recorded a decline in skilled manual workers with a fair increase in semi-skilled manual laborers. A trend associated with a shift towards prefabrication means of production. Dainty et al. (2005) claims that shortages of soft skilled workers were as acute as those in the manual sector of the industry. Problems in skills are manifest in the lack of skills, the shortage happen when the demand for skills in a given sector outruns supply of the needed specialists resulting to difficulties in recruitment (Harrison, 2005)

On the other hand, skills gap skills gap is the deficiency of skills in an employer’s workforce, resulting to voids in the competence of existing workers, leading to slags in performance, safety and quality (ONS,2002, DFEE,2000; LSC, 2005). The industry is thus trying to fix this gap in the short run by employing employees from low-wage nations, instead of recognizing the long-run business advantage of attempting the recruitment of female workers (Gurjao, 2006). Though there has been a significant increase in the number of women and colored people joining the industry, it is only in line with the general growth of the construction industry. However, in reality, diversity-based recruitment percentiles have remained unchanged, ranging of between 9 to 13 percent of women and 2-5 percent of the colored people since the year 1991. The low count of women in the industry lie in contrast with the current recommended standard of 46% for the females and 8% for the colored people (construction skills, 2008).

Chan and Dainty (2007) favour a conceptual move directed to a knowledge-based economy founded upon standards of lifelong learning to reduce the skills shortage. Contrary, they pit out that the structure of the construction industry is inhibiting progress due to the small firms that make comprise the huge majority of employers in the industry. At the same time, the labour market and fiscal policies have expended little effort to safeguard the industry’s long-term skill provision and sustainability.

In the Nigerian context, Abdullahi (2007) argues in a purely patriarchal society the males dominate all spheres of the women’s lives. Consequently, the social relations of both sexes are governed by patriarchal socialization systems and cultural beliefs that are in favour of male interests but against those of the females. As a result, women access to leadership and administrative positions are hampered by culturally predefined gender roles for the sexes (Olojede, 2004: Olowe, 2001). Women are usually underrepresented in leadership and managerial positions as compared to their male counterparts worldwide (Tai et al., 2005)