UK faces critical skills shortage – report

There is a serious skills shortage in the UK, putting its housing and net zero emissions ambitions at risk, a new report warns.

Checkatrade said 1.3 million new skilled workers and 350,000 apprentices will be urgently needed over the next decade to meet government targets and the ever-increasing demands of the construction, renovation and repair industry.

The report indicates that thanks to an improving economy, lower interest rates and faster planning processes, the home renovation and modernisation sector is expected to grow by 40% over the next decade.

But this promising growth is under threat from a severe skills shortage, exacerbated by an ageing workforce. More than a third of current workers are over 50, with many planning to retire within the next decade, according to Checkatrade.

To meet the challenges of replacing retirees, the sector will need to recruit 377,000 new workers, while an additional 734,000 will be allocated to meet current demand in the renovation, modernisation and construction sectors, it was forecast.

Jambu Palaniappan, CEO of Checkatrade, said: “The home improvement and refurbishment sector is key not only to delivering significant outcomes under the Government’s Building Better plans, but also to strengthen and future-proof the existing housing stock.

“The potential benefits for both individual homeowners and the wider economy are huge. However, this vision of modern, energy-efficient homes that are fit for 21st century Britain will remain out of reach unless we address the critical skills gap.”

Andrew Evans, of Capital Economics, who assisted with the research, added: “To deliver on the government’s priorities of increasing housebuilding and achieving net zero emissions, a skilled construction workforce will be needed to cope with the associated increase in activity.

“Our modelling shows the scale of the challenge. Among the striking findings, 377,000 new recruits are needed over the next decade for home improvement and repair work alone.”

In a separate report, skills organisation City & Guilds and the Lifelong Education Institute have called on the Government to learn from the mistakes of the past and create a long-term skills strategy for lifelong learning and economic growth.

Kirstie Donnelly, Chief Executive of City & Guilds, said: “We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to clean up our skills policy once and for all and create a holistic, long-term strategy to lift our economy by delivering skills that work.

“What is most important now is that we learn from the mistakes of the past. If we do not understand this now, we will never solve the problem of productivity and growth.

“This is critical not only to addressing the skills shortages in many industries, but also to furthering the mission of this government.”