UK shortage of construction workers: Our take

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construction workers

After a news report claimed that Britain will need one million extra construction workers by 2020 in order to fulfil house-building needs constructaquote.com CEO and owner Lyndon Wood made the following comments:

“In light of the revelation that young people in the UK face the worst prospects for quite a few generations, it’s pretty clear that we need to do more to get young people into work. It’s imperative that we attempt to source the root of the problem by tackling the reasons behind why such a low percentage of young Britons and school-leavers aren’t interested in a career within construction; particularly when there are such a wide range of varied opportunities available at their fingertips.

“The cost of education sky-rocketing in recent years has further fuelled the argument that apprenticeships are the right response in addressing decreasing skills throughout the UK, and the government should be doing more in order to delegate more financial support to conquer skill shortages. If we are to harness the power to grow our construction sector by introducing the additional 1 million workers needed to meet the 2020 housing demand, we need to make sure that we’re not neglecting to present young people to the opportunities available to them.

“For us to fulfil housing needs, it’s necessary for us to do something about the decreasing number of young people in the UK completing apprenticeships. With such a small percentage of young people in the construction sector, we run the risk of an aging workforce failing to replenish. With fewer young people entering the sector, the industry will find it difficult to introduce and apply new skills. The industry needs people with relevant skills and with many unemployed young people in the UK; we could be doing more to introduce them to the construction sector.

“We do not want to be smack-bang in the middle of a situation that resembles the post 1990’s recession labour market. We must not remain inactive in our failings to address large-scale unemployment amid the able-bodied youth of the UK; especially when there’s an opportunity to increase apprenticeships and employment throughout our construction industry.”