- There is a shortage of construction specialists in the UK, which is causing delays for homes requiring building services
- If nothing is done about this, an additional 225,000 skilled workers will be required by 2027 to meet growing demand
- The Home Office last year added roofers, bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters to the shortfall trades list to address the shortage
Legit.ng reporter Zainab Iwayemi has over 3 years of experience covering the Economy, Technology and Capital Markets.
Bricklayers and other professional builders are in short supply in the UK, causing delays for households needing building services.
The UK is expected to lose ยฃ98 billion in growth by 2030 due to the skills gap, meaning an extra 225,000 skilled workers will be needed by 2027 to meet growing demand.
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A national audit of buildings by Fix Radio found that, by 2021, 415,000 people had to wait more than a year to find a builder.
Beyond just builders, there is a shortage of plumbers and heating engineers (301,000 families expect a year), roofers (294,000) and carpenters (274,000).
According UK Daily Mail survey, Customers had to wait more than three months on average for a bricklayer over the past three years, while gardeners, painters and decorators kept customers waiting more than two and a half months.
Industry experts point out how seriously this skills gap is affecting large-scale projects such as the ongoing construction of the Co-op Live stadium in Manchester.
An aging workforce is exacerbating the problem. Now, 5% of construction workers are over 50 and 33% plan to retire by 2030.
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In the next ten years, about one million tradesmen are expected to retire, according to the Construction Skills Network of the Construction Industry Training Board.
The solution
More British workers need to be trained immediately, although migrant labor has helped to alleviate shortages to some extent.
To address the deficit, the Ministry of the Interior it put carpenters, plasterers, roofers and bricklayers on the shortage trades list last year.
The UK government is taking steps to tackle the issue, including supporting 100,000 apprenticeships and tightening non-vocational university degrees.
During the general election campaign, the Labor and Conservative parties promised to build hundreds of thousands of extra homes in key cities, while Labor proposed new towns.
Fix Radio’s Clive Holland highlighted the critical need for more manufacturers, warning,
“If political parties, regardless of their stripe or colour, genuinely believe they can tackle the housing crisis without having the serious conversation about tackling the skills gap, we are headed for a very dangerous position.”
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According to a study by Fix Radio, 18% of parents discouraged their children from going into construction because they felt the pay was too poor and two-thirds of Brits felt they were not encouraged enough to pursue skills at school.
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Nigerians on a visit visa can now work in the UK
YEN.com.gh reported that the UK Home Office has published new immigration rules for the benefit of foreign nationals on visitor visas.
Nigerians on visitor visas will now be allowed to do five types of jobs from January 2024.
According to a government explanatory statement, the change to the visitor visa was to remove the ban on working directly with clients.
Source: Legit.ng