The UK needs almost ONE MILLION new recruits in trades and construction over the next decade just to keep pace with demand, and with vacancies in the sector reaching record highs the industry is facing ‘a perfect storm’, new research has revealed.
The new report has highlighted an “alarming” skills gap engulfing the construction sector over the coming 10 years, with a drastic need for new recruits in trades and construction by 2032.
Of the 937,000 tradespeople needed to meet demand within the next decade, it said nearly a quarter of a million – 244,000 – must be qualified apprentices in order to prevent skills gaps worsening.
Released during National Apprenticeship Week, the UK Trade Skills Index 2023 has been commissioned by tradesperson directory Checkatrade.com and undertaken by leading independent macro-economic research firm Capital Economics.
The skills gap is being exacerbated by an ageing workforce, an exodus of EU workers post-Brexit, and the cost-of-living crisis.
The report’s findings have been described by entrepreneur and investor Richard Harpin, the founder of HomeServe, which acquired Checkatrade.com in 2017, as both “urgent and alarming”.
Together, Richard and Checkatrade.com are spearheading a series of new projects aiming to tackle the challenge, focused on school leavers and young people aged under 25.
In March, they will unite to launch “Get In”, a new campaign aimed at getting thousands more young people aged 16 to 25 into trades careers through apprenticeships. Get In will seek to capture young people’s CVs and connect them to opportunities within Checkatrade.com’s membership base, as well as large trade employers and SME trade businesses.
The new campaign will be piloted in the West Midlands before a planned national roll-out.
Richard said: “The figures revealed today in our UK Trade Skills Index 2023 report should come as a wakeup call to everyone involved in the trade and construction industry.
“Although we expect the economy to continue to be squeezed in 2023, the construction sector is finding itself in an increasingly alarming situation caused by Brexit, an ageing workforce and the cost-of-living crisis. Combined, this is creating a perfect storm in the industry, and causing a widening skills gap, which we must address.
“Let us be in no doubt: the sector faces urgent and concerning challenges now and over the next decade. It’s incumbent on both businesses and Government to come together and act before it’s too late.”
It is the third year in a row the annual UK Trade Skills Index has been published, and the report also laid bare concerning statistics regarding output and employment in construction. It suggested the skills gap could lead to a further blow to Government, which is expected to miss its housebuilding target of 300,000 new homes each year.
Most pressingly, it said vacancies in the trades reached record highs in 2022, with widespread shortages particularly prevalent among plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters and electricians.
The UK has seen a sharp rise in skills shortages across construction trades – from 29 per cent at the start of 2021 to 55 per cent at the end of the year 2021 – and these shortages persisted through 2022.
Additionally, it showed that despite an anticipated short-term fall in construction output, the UK must ramp up the number of completed construction apprentices to avoid the skills gap worsening – an increase of around 34 per cent above the current levels.
Melanie Waters, former CEO of Help For Heroes, who has been appointed to oversee the campaign, said: “This is an urgent problem, but there is a solution.
“We must do everything we can now to encourage younger generations to consider a career in the trades.
“This being National Apprenticeship Week, the week we celebrate apprentices across the UK, it’s important we recognise they are going to be crucial to the future of the industry in helping bridge that divide.
“Expect our new campaign, called Get In, to make waves in terms of tackling this challenge, and we’re looking forward to working with the industry, government, and regional decision makers to take action and inspire a new generation of tradespeople into our industry.”
