Worker shortages threaten new homes target

Almost a quarter million new people will need to be recruited to deliver the government’s housing targets, a new report by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) says.

Research undertaken by HBF found that for every 10,000 homes the industry builds, 30,000 new recruits will be needed.

To deliver on the government’s housing targets, homebuilding needs to increase by 80,000 units a year based on the most recent net additions figures. That equates to 240,000 extra people needed across a broad range of roles and skills.

The report, titled A Hard Hat to Fill, also said that the Future Homes Standard, scheduled to come into force in England in 2025, will require even more specialised skills.

To reach the government’s target of 300,000 homes a year, HBF said the following roles will be needed across the housing sector:

However, HBF said the number of apprenticeships supported by the current system is only a small portion of what is needed, with only plumbers having had enough people undertake an apprenticeship for the trade last year. 

Only 10% of bricklayers and 3% of groundworkers, the trades most in demand, of the required additional workforce were being trained last year.

HBF said the industry “stands ready” to support the government in its housebuilding targets and is asking that they work together to implement “the sector plan and create a blueprint of how we recruit enough key trades to deliver new homes target”.

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