The potential impact of Brexit on Scotland’s construction industry will be put under the microscope at Holyrood.
MSPs will also consider the effects of technological changes and automation.
Construction employs more than 154,000 people, or 7% of Scotland’s workforce.
The Brexit impact inquiry will be the Scottish Parliament’s economy, energy and fair work committee, with convener Gordon Lindhurst saying MSPs are keen to discover how challenges facing the industry can be overcome.
He said: “Construction is a vital sector in Scotland as it drives and underpins the economy with its knock-on effect on other sectors.
“As well as being a major employer, the sector also delivers infrastructure for housing, transport, education and community, and contributes £21.5 billion to Scotland’s gross domestic product.
“However, the sector has its challenges and we want to hear views and suggestions on how these can be overcome.
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“We also want to find out how we can encourage young people to work in the industry.”
Scotland’s construction industry recruits more apprentices than any other, with 6,104 starting out on new careers in the sector in 2017-18.
But only 1% of these new workers were women, highlighting a major gender imbalance.
Consultants have also suggested that productivity has flat-lined since 1994, in contrast to a 30% increase across the economy as a whole.
The inquiry will also examine the role of the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, which was set up in 2014 to help businesses “deliver transformational change in construction”.
Meanwhile, the latest Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply UK manufacturing purchasing managers’ index report says Britain’s manufacturers are stockpiling goods at near record rates in preparation for a calamitous no-deal Brexit.
Buying volumes increased as companies implemented plans to reduce supply-chain disruption if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal.
