Britain desperately needs more builders, the housing minister has suggested.
Matthew Pennycook said the shortage of construction workers is one of the “big challenges” the Government faces in meeting house-planning targets. But he defended the plan to build 1.5 million homes in England before the end of Parliament, insisting it is “stretching but achievable”.
He said the country is in an “acute and entrenched housing crisis”. Figures show the number of construction workers has dropped by 14% since 2019, with around 38,000 vacancies advertised every month in 2023.
READ MORE: A look inside the most expensive house for sale in the UK — it’s got a tree on the roof
READ MORE: If Mad Vlad waits until 2027 for WW3, Brits could spend it drinking G&T in snazzy bunker bar
(Image: Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)
The Construction Industry Training Board has warned that the UK needs an extra 250,000 construction workers by 2028 in order to meet demand.
He said: “We’ve got an aging construction workforce – we’ve not got a particularly diverse construction workforce either, we’ve got to invest in that workforce.
“We’ve got to reform and innovate, and by innovate I mean things like new, modern methods of construction.”
He pointed out the Government has announced £140 million pounds of investment into 32 home building skills hubs across the country.
(Image: Richard Townshend Photography)
“This has got to be a cross-government effort on the skills agenda, and construction skills in particular, because it involves a series of challenges around training, around local labour markets”, he added.
But Britain can’t rely on overseas construction workers to deliver the target, he added. Although foreign workers would “play a role”, he claimed vacancies in the industry would have to be filled by “people that live in this country”.
He said: “I think we’ve got a duty to the country to try and tackle the housing crisis, to boost economic growth, and that stretching but achievable, 1.5-million target is the way to do that.
“These targets are, we think, achievable, but they are incredibly stretching, and it will take a huge amount of effort, focus and determination to meet them.”
Businesses say they are are struggling to recruit after 120,000 foreign workers went home during the pandemic, while immigration restrictions saw the proportion of migrants in the sector fall slightly to just under 10%.
He said: “We’ve got to do more to upskill our own workforce, to ensure that those training places, those apprenticeships and ultimately those jobs are coming from people that live in this country to fill those vacancies.
“You can’t rely wholly on an overseas workforce.”