Over 400,000 new workers are needed each year until 2021 if Britain is to deliver its construction needs, according to a new report by industry consultant Arcadis.

The Arcadis Talent Scale has been developed to measure the extent of the UK's skills crisis across the infrastructure and house building workforce.

The study revealed if the UK is to build 270,000 new homes over the next five years, more than 370,000 new people must be recruited into the sector. To meet forecasted national infrastructure requirements, an additional 36,500 people will need to be employed each year.

Out of the whole of the UK, London and the South East will need to employ more people than any other part of the country, accounting for 30% (110,000 people) of total demand. This is due to major infrastructure programmes, such as HS2 and Crossrail 2, already being developed. Arcadis said companies are expected to "draw heavily" on the common talent pool of transferable skills if delivery targets are to be met.

Elsewhere, over 43,000 workers are needed in the East of England, while 41,000 additional employees are needed in the South West. These workers are required to meet projected regional housing and infrastructure requirements.


In Scotland, nearly 36,000 extra recruits will be needed to meet the country's future infrastructure and housebuilding demand. Painters and decorators are also most in demand, followed by carpenters and joiners, where their demand accounts for nearly one sixth of all national resource requirements.

Other skills-deficit areas in Scotland include plumbers and heating and ventilating engineers.

Overall, the report states the equivalent to one worker every 77 seconds must be recruited to meet the UK's future construction needs.

However, Arcadis affirmed these figures are independent of the impact of any eventual Brexit deal. In the event of a 'hard' Brexit, the number of EU workers entering the UK could fall at the rate of attrition. This could result in 215,000 fewer people from the EU entering the infrastructure and house building sectors between now and 2020, further exacerbating the labour shortage.

James Bryce, Arcadis Director of Workforce Planning, said what the UK is experiencing is not a skills gap, but a "skills gulf".

"Construction employment is already down 15 percent on 2008 and, quite simply, if we don’t have the right people to build the homes and infrastructure we need, the UK is going to struggle to maintain it’s competitive position in the global economy," he said.

"However, overcoming a skills shortfall as vast as the one we now face can’t be achieved through education and technology alone. Of course, we need to bring more new talent into the industry but, in the short term, construction will also need to look at those currently working in other industries and dramatically improve its efficiency.

"On top of this, as part of any Brexit deal, the government can help by looking to secure the rights of EU workers currently operating in British construction, simplifying the visa system and minimising the tax burden on workers and business. If this fails to happen, many of the projects that the British government have earmarked for economic stimulus could prove more difficult and costly to resource. In the worst case scenario these projects could fail to be delivered at all, reducing our ability to grow the economy and limiting investment in the industry."

(LM/MH)