"A leaner, more responsive and more productive shipbuilding and offshore construction business will be better placed to take advantage of emerging market opportunities and to counter the cyclical nature of ship-ordering patterns, " he said.

BBC: Shipyard to lay off half workforce

The change in the mix of growth should help: productivity in construction remains low, whereas in exports the most productive companies often do best.

ECONOMIST: Time to rebalance | The

"Construction workers need to hold tools to become more productive, and you and me might want to climb Kilimanjaro and need extra power from a bionic leg, " he said.

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