Shetland's construction industry – building careers, futures and legacies

Over five decades, the Shetland construction industry has played a crucial part in transforming the islands into the diverse and vibrant community it is today.

From the 1970s’ construction of the Sullom Voe Terminal, the completion of Shetland Gas Plant, harbour extensions and new fish markets, and one of the UK’s largest onshore wind farms, the islands have seen their fair share of huge construction projects.

That nationally significant work has been completed alongside constructing iconic buildings like Lerwick’s arts venue Mareel and neighbouring museum and archives, the award-winning Quoys social housing scheme, and many beautiful architect-designed homes. And in Unst, Shetland’s most northerly inhabited island, a new spaceport has been constructed with the first rocket launches expected in the first half of 2025.

It’s a diverse and interesting workload for anyone involved in the industry and the flow of projects looks set to continue with hundreds of homes, and new clean energy infrastructure in the pipeline.

Construction firm DITT plans to be part of that future, fifty years after laying the groundwork for their business. The company has shaped some of Shetland’s most recognisable structures, from the Clickimin Leisure Centre in Lerwick, Mareel, and Shetland Museum and Archives.

With more opportunities for people to live and work in the isles, and greater demand for housing, DITT’s attention is turning to building hundreds of homes over the next decade.

Earlier this year its employees took over what is Shetland’s largest construction firm through an ownership trust, paving the way for the next 50 years.

Liam Spence started with the company in 2012, in between his third and fourth years at university studying quantity surveying.

Twelve years on, he is one of the company’s four directors – alongside Peter Tait, who has been with the firm since 1995 and will retire in December 2024.

Liam said it was “a no-brainer” for him to join DITT when he graduated, with the company advertising just as he arrived back in Shetland.

“I went away wanting to do quantity surveying at university, but didn’t know at the end of the four years where I would end up,” he said.

“I decided I’d rather be in Shetland than in a city, so when DITT were looking for a graduate, it was a no-brainer on my part.

“I would like to think it was [a no-brainer] on DITT’s part too!”

DITT, which employs plumbers and civil engineers as well as joiners, has – like other construction companies – garnered a strong reputation for growing its own staff from within the isles.

Liam – who grew up in Unst – is an example of the approach that sees apprentices or graduates taken on, before moving through the ranks.

Peter explained they had taken on 10 apprentices in 2024, who would get a “good range of experiences” – from fitting kitchens, to windows, to whole housebuilding.

“We generally do take on more than one apprentice each year,” Liam said.

“I think they find it easier, because they can speak about their experiences together.

“Our apprentices do like it that the guys they’re learning from are good to work off of, it’s a good atmosphere generally.”

Peter said he often sold the idea of beginning an apprenticeship by highlighting the “potential legacy” they could leave behind.

“We’ve done things like the museum, Mareel, so I say to them, ‘When you’re a grandfather, you can take your children for a drive around the town and say, ‘I built that, I built that’.”

And Liam said they were able to point their apprentices towards some of their longest-serving employees to show them “that there’s progress available”.

“You can go from apprentice joiner to joiner, to foreman, site supervisor, project manager – there’s a career path there,” he said.

“Steven Farquhar, one of our new directors, started as an apprentice joiner in the early 1990s.

“If you want to put in the effort and progress further, the opportunity is there for you.”

While DITT is Shetland’s biggest construction firm, it doesn’t do it all – and Liam said they have no designs on biting off more than they can chew.

Instead, they rely on sub-contractors like electricians, painters and floorers to help them complete their housing projects.

And with huge housing developments being planned for both the Knab and Staneyhill sites in Lerwick – with around 450 homes planned between the two – the entire construction industry in Shetland is likely to be very busy for years to come.

“We know that Shetland in the next 10 years is going to be providing a lot of housing,” Liam said.

“We as DITT are joiners, plumbers, but we will be relying on subcontractors within Shetland.

“Essentially all that companies, who might be smaller than we are, will be getting utilised a lot by the likes of ourselves if we are successful in tendering for these projects.

“We need young apprentices, like brickies, coming into other companies as well to allow us to subcontract them to come and do the work.”

Reflecting on both the last 50 years, and hopefully the next 50, Peter said that a “good relationship with all employees” – from the directors’ room to the shop floor – was crucial to their success.

“Every employee is key,” he said.

“Me and Liam, are sitting here, but we can’t go out and knock a house together – it’s the guys and girls on the ground

Peter is now preparing to step back from the company, and Liam said he was confident in not just the future of DITT but the whole industry.

“Anybody looking to come into the construction industry now in Shetland is looking at a pipeline of work that is pretty set, they have 10 years in front of them.

“I don’t know any other industry in Shetland where you can say, ‘I know I have 10 years of work in front of me’

“For any young person in Shetland that’s wondering what to do, getting into a trade in the construction industry – this is the ideal time to do it.

“In another 25 years, I would hope I’m sitting here an old man in a similar interview saying, ‘yeah we’re still up there, we’re still the ones folk want to come to build their houses’.”