Projected Growth in Construction Industry Leads to Spike in Demand for Tradespeople

The construction industry is set to experience a larger-than-expected period of growth, according to the latest Construction Skills Network report. As a result, tradespeople are likely to experience an unprecedented increase in demand over the next five years.

By using forecasted trends in the construction economy, the report has calculated the necessary expected changes within the industry year on year. The report highlights the fact that the industry is due to face “substantial recruitment and training challenges”, and that if the sector aims to meet the projected growth over the next five years, then over a quarter of a million additional workers will be required to fill the demand. 

Not only is this a considerable number of its own accord, but it is also a significant leap from the previous CSN report, which was only published last year. The five year projection for 2021-2025 suggested that 216,800 workers would be sufficient to meet the growing demands of the industry following its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. This would be equal to an additional 43,000 workers per year until 2025 – itself no mean feat.

But this year’s report raises this target up beyond the quarter of a million mark, to 266,000 – a rise of almost 50,000. Now, the annual recruitment target is at 53,200. Within a year, then, the rise in demand has essentially meant that an additional year’s worth of workers is required within the same five year window. 

If the projected growth is met with a sufficient surge in recruitment, then this will mean that the total number of those employed within the construction industry will be at 2.78 million by 2026. And this includes a whole range of professions within the industry itself. Tim Balcon, CEO of the Construction Industry Training Board, notes that while the largest increase in annual demand will be predominantly carpenters and joiners, and construction managers, there will also be substantial surges in demand for technical roles such as electronics technicians, civil engineering technicians, estimators and valuers, and office-based support staff. 

Regardless of particular surges in demand for particular construction roles, the whole of the construction industry will be impacted by the rapid growth we will experience over the next five years. Balcon emphasises the importance of the construction industry as a whole, and its vitality “in supporting the backbone of the UK economy”. The priority for the industry, he says, must be accelerating recruitment, because “developing a highly skilled workforce will be by far the construction industry’s biggest challenge over the next five years”. 

This latest report is ultimately a sign that the construction industry has recovered even better than expected from the obstacles represented by the recent pandemic. Even the first CSN report, published in 2021, was highly optimistic about its progress, stating that even the most fervent optimist in 2020 would not have predicted the construction industry’s successful recovery from the initial impact of the pandemic. 

Well, this recent report paints an even more glowing picture of the industry’s future. It has outlined a path ahead in which the construction workforce will play a central role in furthering the UK economy, supplying the backbone to progress and productivity as we continue to recover from the challenges of the recent past, and anticipate those in the near future. 

Tradespeople are always going to be in demand, but now this is the case more than ever. The next five years will see construction workers contributing to building the country’s infrastructure for the next generation; completing much-needed work on domestic properties as the country aims to meet housing targets; and repairing and maintaining our domestic appliances, all the more crucial as we enter an energy crisis. 

The time ahead for tradespeople has never been more crucial. Join the ranks now and become a qualified, skilled professional. 

Learn your trade. Get qualified. Make it happen.