The UK continues to struggle with a severe shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector, according to a report from City & Guilds and data from the Construction Industry Training Board.

This ongoing problem is amplified by a planned increase in output to meet the demands of the government’s new homes pledge. According to the CITB, around 61,000 new workers are needed every year to deliver the government’s housing target, and that’s before any other gaps in the workforce are considered.

What’s driving the skills shortage?

The recent City & Guilds’ Foundations for the Future report (which surveyed employees, employers and training providers in the UK construction sector) highlights three main areas contributing to the current crisis in construction.

  • Skills shortages

“Three-quarters (76 %) of construction firms are struggling to recruit the skilled workers they need. Alarmingly, 84 % of respondents believe the industry is facing a critical skills crisis.”

An ageing construction workforce and construction firms finding it difficult to recruit qualified workers have contributed to a severe skills shortage.

  • Scaling the workforce

“To meet housing targets and other infrastructure demands, the construction workforce needs to grow by 30%, requiring an additional 161,000 workers over the coming years.”

An increased demand for the workforce to meet the government’s new home targets requires an additional 161,000 workers.

  • Access to training

“While 85% of construction employees recognise training is essential, 61% say it is difficult to access funded training, limiting opportunities to gain the skills the industry urgently needs.”

A lack of funded training opportunities in both traditional skills and green skills means it’s been difficult to access the necessary training despite demand.

Construction as an attractive career path

“To futureproof the sector, we must inspire the next generation early and change perceptions of construction—showing that it offers modern, sustainable, and rewarding careers.”

The report highlights how an early exposure to construction skills in education could help attract new talent. If individuals were introduced to more construction-related skills at school or college, it could encourage more young people to see construction as an attractive career path.

It also stresses that the industry as a whole needs to do more to appeal to career changers. Training, reskilling or upskilling in construction-related trades has perceived barriers to entry, so needs to be accessible, adaptable, flexible and appealing to overcome these and become a viable option for this group of people.

This also applies to existing workers. With an emphasis on promoting life-long learning, employers need to provide training for their existing workforce to meet demand, whether that’s for career progression, digital skills, or green skills.

Career changers could be key

The City & Guilds report outlined that welcoming and supporting career changers into the industry could help to address the skills shortage. The main way to do this is by providing accessible training.

“The Government’s targets become less achievable each year without investment in attracting and retaining talent in the built environment. Career returners and switchers offer untapped potential—if funding models support them.” – Nick Maclean OBE RD FRICS, Acting President of RICS

As this group of people are generally considering a career change later in life, they are put off the traditional apprentice route because of the length of training and typically low pay as they’ll already have financial commitments. Any training will need to be flexible to fit around any existing commitments they have such as a current job or caring.

For this group of people ‘flexible training’ means:

  • Intensive courses that condense the time to learn core skills so they can learn and get qualified in less time
  • Blended learning programmes that mix home study or online learning with practical sessions, so they can fit training in around work or family commitments
  • Modular training so learners can break training into blocks, helping them to spread the cost and the time
  • Part time, weekend or evening training to fit around existing work, family or caring commitments
  • Funding guidance about loans, grants, finance options and employer sponsorship so that adult learners who are financially supporting their own training are well informed about the options available

While apprenticeships and college courses still form a vital route into the industry, for career changers it’s simply not viable. This is where private construction training providers can help nurture this group of potential talent as it can offer the necessary flexibility by offering intensive courses, home study, part-time training, funding options, and industry-standard training and qualifications.

Able Skills is a City & Guilds approved training centre delivering industry-recognised construction courses that allow individuals to build skills and careers.