- Government plans to increase construction workforce by 60,000 not enough
The government is set to fall woefully short of delivering on its promise to build 1.5 million homes by 2029, according to the construction industry’s largest trade association.
The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced a £625million investment in training 60,000 new construction workers during yesterday’s spring statement.
But even with that boost to the workforce, industry insiders say the home building target won’t be met.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the The Federation of Master Builders, said: ‘The numbers of workers don’t go far enough.
‘This week’s injection of funding to train 60,000 new construction workers is welcome, but we estimate we will need 250,000 more construction workers by 2028 to even get close to the Government’s targets.’
The Home Builders Federation estimates that for every 10,000 new homes to be built, the sector needs about 30,000 new recruits.
Not enough: the Government has announced a £625million investment to train 60,000 construction workers as it attempts to reach its 1.5 million homes target
Steven Mulholland, chief executive of the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA), said the government’s plan to train new workers was ‘overshadowed by the fact that the sector has been losing 70,000 workers a year since 2019.’
He added: ‘This combined with the fact that the average age of a UK construction worker is now over 50, means the sector is standing on the precipice of a huge demographic shift that will see experienced workers leave the sector as they near retirement.’
‘For Labour to have any chance of meeting their targets, they need to step up their current pace of housebuilding. If we continue at the current rate, we will be far below the government’s goal.’
An Office for Budget Responsibility forecast published alongside the Spring Statement said it expected 1.3million net new homes to be built by 2029, falling short of the target.
However, it also said it expects Labour’s loosening of planning rules to increase housebuilding levels to a 40-year high.
Since winning the election, the government has introduced several other measures to accelerate housebuilding.
These include planning reforms such as mandatory housebuilding targets for councils, grey belt policies, the recruitment of 300 new planning officers, and golden rules for development.
Do housebuilders think the target is achievable?
Office for National Statistics figures show that only 150,000 new homes are on track to be built this year, which is half of what is needed to be on track to meet the 1.5 million target.
The 0.2 per cent fall in construction output in January 2025, according to the ONS, is another indicator that the economy is struggling despite the Government’s strong commitment to back development.
Recent S&P Global UK Construction PMI figures recorded the sharpest decline in construction output since May 2020.
But a significant number of housebuilders and property developers are confident that the UK can meet the housebuilding targets set by the Government, according to recent research from Shawbrook Bank.
In a survey of 568 property developers earlier this year, it found two-thirds of developers expect housebuilding to increase within 12 months.
When asked about the likelihood of achieving this goal, three in five developers believed it would be easy, while the rest acknowledged it could be challenging.
A third of developers pointed to the lack of support for first-time buyers as a major barrier to homeownership, while an equal proportion felt the UK’s infrastructure—such as roads, railways, schools, and hospitals—was insufficient to support new developments.
Resource availability is another key concern among developers. Nearly a third believe there isn’t enough funding to support developers, while 28 per cent feel there is insufficient land in high-demand areas.
An equal proportion are worried that there aren’t enough resources to meet the level of building required.
Terry Woodley, managing director of development finance at Shawbrook said: ‘While the developers we spoke to are confident, scepticism remains more broadly in the market.
‘There has been some progress over the past year in reducing planning red tape and streamlining processes, but more needs to be done to make the 1.5 million new home target feel more achievable.
‘Resource constraints remain a major challenge – whether in the form of materials and supply chain issues or the sector’s ongoing skills shortage.’