In a recent blog post, we talked about how so many businesses working from home during the pandemic has led to an increased number of vacant commercial spaces and how repurposing unused spaces has led to new opportunities for mechanical and electrical contractors and the construction industry as a whole.

In particular, we looked at commercial buildings being adapted into domestic and commercial accommodation, such as student housing and hotels. As a result, this work has created labour opportunities for a wide range of technical and management roles within construction.

A few months on, whilst workers are now being advised that working from home is no longer required, the effects of the pandemic, including some businesses being forced to close permanently, whilst others have chosen to make home working the normal or moved to new premises, means that there are many large office and retail spaces that are empty.

Whilst some vacant commercial spaces will likely be filled, empty, open plan spaces are also well suited to repurposing for industries that have thrived as a result of the pandemic.

Warehouses

Whilst the last 16 months or so have been difficult for many traditional retailers, with non-essential retail spaces being forced to close for months at a time, the pandemic has meant that many companies expanded their online operations and as a result the ecommerce market grew by over 27%.

An effect of the growth in online retail is that demand for warehouse space has increased. Many office and retail spaces feature open plan floors that are ideal for warehousing. Whilst office spaces can meet the needs of small to medium retail businesses with few major mechanical or structural changes, large retail spaces can be provided for storage space for pallets and large products, and can be repurposed to allow for forklift use and trailers. 

For any office or retail space to warehouse conversion, a variety of M&E and construction labour will be necessary.

Data Centres

With the data centres industry growing in the last year and demand expected to continue increasing in the future, vacant office spaces can provide an ideal opportunity for conversion to data centres. Whilst offices provide an effective shell for data centre rooms, a wide variety of datacoms, construction and M&E workers are needed to install the electrical and HVAC infrastructures required, along with installing the extensive cabling and routers that connect data storage systems. 

Construction, M&E and Data Centre Industry Opportunities

For more information on opportunities in construction, M&E and data centre industries, from building repurposing to major infrastructure projects and everything in between, contact On-Site Group today.

As a specialist recruitment agency for construction, industrial and datacoms sectors, we are the trusted team to match candidates with our network of industry clients, and advise our clients on the candidates that provide the best fit for any vacancy,

To learn more about what we can do for you, call 0845 070 3883 or send us an email and we will be happy to assist you.