Unpacking the skills gap in Construction
18 March 2025
The UK construction industry faces a growing crisis: a severe skills shortage that threatens housing targets and economic growth. With over 140,000 vacancies in the sector and an ageing workforce set to shrink by a third by 2035, action is needed now.
Skilled trades such as bricklaying, plumbing, and carpentry, are vital to building and maintaining homes across the UK. However, recruitment into these fields has declined due to financial constraints and supply chain issues. With 159,000 children living in temporary accommodation and a national target to build 1.5 million new homes, the current skills gap poses a significant threat to housing delivery.
Moreover, diversity remains a challenge. Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in skilled trades, with women making up just 1% of house-building trade workers. Additionally, Brexit and the pandemic have further exacerbated the shortage by reducing the availability of skilled migrant workers.
In partnership with the University of Cambridge, we’re launching our latest research project: Construction and Building Trades: The Skills Horizon. This report examines the current challenges facing the sector and solutions, such as those we’re implementing at PfP Thrive, that can help address our skills shortages and futureproof our industry.
- 55% of companies reported hiring difficulties in the final quarter of 2023, compared to just 29% at the start of the year. Key trades such as plumbing, bricklaying, carpentry, and electrical work are among the hardest hit.
- Women account for just 0.9% of the workforce, while the majority of women in housebuilding continue to work in office-based roles, and only 4% of them are employed in a skilled trade.
- We are facing a critical shortfall of 140,000 vacancies in construction and need over 230,000 new skilled workers to meet the government’s net-zero targets.
- Black, Asian, and ethnic minority people make up just 6% of the total number of people working in construction roles.
- Between 86% and 92% of LGBT workers in the construction industry do not feel able to come out about their sexuality in the workplace.
- Approximately 35% of the construction workforce is over 50 years old, indicating a significant portion may retire in the next decade.
The Skills Shortage Webinar
On 24 March 2025, PfP Thrive held a webinar with insights from our research with the University of Cambridge, experts from the Housing Diversity Network and the Building Research Establishment.
You can view the full recording of the webinar below and download the slides below.