The government has published its plan for boosting employment in the industry, with a funding package to support various sectors
The construction jobs plan has been published, outlining its aims and methods to tackle the skills shortage that has plagued the industry for the last few years.
The plan aims to support the government’s ambitions to deliver 1.5m new homes, invest £725bn in infrastructure over the next decade, and upgrade 5m existing buildings.
Several issues combine to create the skills shortage
The report examines the skills shortage, and what is causing it, identifying seven key issues:
- Uncertainty over future work: Many projects find themselves stuck at the planning and procurement stages, and businesses tend to be hesitant to recruit or train new workers for jobs that aren’t fully confirmed yet.
- Ageing workforce: 35.1% of construction workers are aged 50+, and the industry is not keeping up with training replacements for those workers approaching retirement age, leading to either fewer skilled workers or replacement workers that have not been adequately trained.
- Industry fragmentation: While larger construction companies may be more able to spend resources on apprenticeships, training, etc. SMEs, microbusinesses, sole traders, and self-employed workers often do not have the time or money for it, or to navigate the complex funding and qualification systems. This is an issue as these workers make up a large part of the industry.
- Training is not always sufficient: While good on paper, many employers have reported instances of workers completing courses but not being able to translate what they’ve learned into practice, harming experience, site readiness, and demonstrable competence.
- Shortage of teachers: For every 100 construction teaching posts, seven are unfilled. While this does not sound like a lot, it is twice the average of the further education sector, and shows that for many trainees, there are not enough teachers.
- Inflexible upskilling: Existing workers can struggle to access training that fits around their paid work, making training awkward or even impossible. This is especially true of self-employed workers working on several projects.
- Retention, diversity, and working conditions: Long hours, unpredictable schedules, long travel requirements, job insecurity, unsuitable facilities, and inappropriate workplace behaviour are all cited to make it more difficult to attract new workers, as well as retain those that do come.
What the plan intends to do
The plan has many points about what the government will do to tackle these issues, including:
- Creating 40,000 placements per year for construction Level 2 and 3 learners aged 16+.
- Creating 35,000 additional construction-focused apprenticeships via Skills Bootcamps.
- Funding 10,000 new foundation apprenticeships.
- Creating 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges funded by £20m up to 2029, £5m of which is for equipment.
- Devolving £99m to Strategic Authorities for 2025-26 to 2029-30 to increase numbers of construction learners.
- Providing a hiring payment of £2,000 for non-levy-paying employers to recruit apprentices aged 16-24 as employees, as well as fully funded training for apprentices.
- Developing an apprenticeship network and updating the Go Construct careers platform, due Spring 2027.
- Expanding more flexible and modular training opportunities, including apprenticeship units and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, to support existing workers looking to upskill.
- Improving teaching capacity by encouraging exchanged between industry professionals and further education providers.
- Strengthening regional planning by aligning workforce forecasts with local construction projects, employers, and training provision.
- Supporting career changers by raising awareness of construction careers and offering mor routes into training and employment.
The full construction jobs plan can be read here.
Some are questioning whether this plan goes far enough. Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “A successful industrial strategy is underpinned by a healthy, ambitious and thriving business environment and the Labour government have not done enough to support this need or unpick the barriers introduced by the previous governments.
“Planning reform has been an endeavour of tinkering, rather than revolutionary supply side enablement. Higher taxation and costs to employ staff were introduced before policies enabled businesses to grow and become sustainable. And stealth taxation, particularly in the construction industry, is seeing many companies shed staff, hold off on investment or close.
“Global pressures have caused considerable challenges but from farming and retail to construction and financial services, the environment for UK businesses, particularly our SMEs, is difficult at best. Unless we change this, learners will find themselves training for a career without enough employers to take them on or give them the vital experience to progress.”
