Sarah McMonagle: Skills Shortage a Threat to New Homes

Last year the government announced that they are planning on building 1 million homes by the end of the current parliament in 2020. To reach this target 200,000 new homes will have to be built per year. This will be the biggest building level of house building seen in England since 1989. During the last financial year, there were only 124,520 new homes built in England - a serious shortcoming if the government wants to hit their ambitious target.  

Sarah McMonagle, head of external affairs at the Federation of Master Builders said: “there’s a growing consensus that the skills shortage within the construction sector is one of the greatest threats to the government’s ambition to build 1 million homes by 2020”… “More than 400,000 tradespeople left the industry during the prolonged economic downturn and that talent has not yet been replaced. The construction sector has been growing steadily for two or three years and as it grows, the skills gap continues to widen”

Research also found that “one in two SME construction firms are struggling to hire bricklayers and 52% are reporting difficulties finding carpenters and joiners.” Carpenters and joiners are core trades to house builders; with the current shortage it presents a real barrier to growth in the housing sector.

This is the worst skills shortage Britain has seen in 30 years, but if you are thinking about changing your career, or learning a trade, now is the best time! The skills shortage means that there are loads of opportunities for skilled carpenters and bricklayers, so you can be certain there will be a consistent work flow, and because of the scarcity of skills means that people who are willing to train and plug the gap will be heavily rewarded for their work.

At Access Training strongly believe that it is important to help reduce the skills gap that Britain is currently facing, and to prevent there being a skills shortage in the Britain in the future. This is one of the reasons why we dedicate our time to delivering some of the best, bespoke, trades training packages in the UK, from our state-of-the-art training centres around the UK. 

For more information about our carpentry or bricklaying courses, get in touch and speak to one of our advisor's today!