"We are now issuing so many enforcement notices that we are publishing them on a quarterly basis rather than twice a year," director of health and safety Tammy Fage told the Jersey Evening Post.
Although the construction industry represented 10 per cent of the island's employment it accounted for almost a quarter of the inspectorate's caseload, she added, with the department increasing its number of full-time inspection staff and doubling the rate of unannounced visits.
"We are seeing lots of issues with working at height at the moment which is difficult to explain," she said, with "one theory" that there were not enough subcontractors to carry out the work. "So small businesses branch out and do work outside of their competence area because they cannot find the subbies to do it."
The previous economic downturn on the island had meant that many experienced people had left the building trade, she said. "Consequently you lost all that experience and not a lot of training was happening."
