The Home Builders Federation (HBF) has today launched new research, ‘A Hard Hat to Fill’, at a Parliamentary event in Westminster, revealing the urgent need for the government to work with industry to ensure it can recruit and train the people it needs to meet the government’s housing targets.
The industry has the workforce in place to deliver current levels of housing supply, but a number of significant constraints – not least the market – are stifling housing demand. If these can be addressed, allowing output to increase to 300,000 new homes a year, the research has found that we will need to significantly expand the home building workforce. In real terms, around 240,000 recruits would be needed across the sector, including 20,000 bricklayers, 20,000 ground workers, and 2,400 electricians. Additionally, the transition to the Future Homes Standard, which will introduce more energy-efficient building targets will require even more specialised skills.
The report follows the government’s very positive announcements on broader construction skills over the weekend. The industry is keen to ensure that it plays a full role in the new Construction Skills Mission Board which should provide a key conduit between the construction industry and government as further skills-related policy initiatives are developed. Government needs to ensure that, alongside this broader initiative, it engages directly with the house building industry in relevant areas such that house-building-specific needs are met.
The increased funding to support SME companies to take on trainees is welcome. We now need to ensure the process to access this additional funding actually allows them to do so. The current overly bureaucratic process largely prohibits SMEs from accessing the funding the industry has paid in levies, and so restricts recruitment to this key part of the industry.
This weekend’s announcements build on others made in recent months, such as replacing the Apprenticeship Levy with the new Growth and Skills Levy and creating Skills England as a body to oversee the reforms and monitor gaps in the country’s workforce.
Apprenticeships are currently the most used route into the industry with HBF’s most recent workforce census revealing that half the onsite workforce had undertaken an apprenticeship. However, in recent years, this has waned for a range of reasons, including the restrictive Apprenticeship Levy, low pay, the duration of courses, insufficient focus on practical skills, and poor employer perception of the quality of courses available.
The country needs an additional 20,000 bricklayers to meet housing targets, so getting the apprentice model right is essential. Only 1,990 apprenticeships qualified in 2023/24, just 10% of the required target. Likewise, only 560 new groundworkers were trained, 3% of what is needed. Other essential trades, such as roofers and tilers, are also suffering from poor apprenticeship uptake.
The skills shortage in the home building sector has been a long-standing issue, exacerbated by several factors, as only 25% of students enrolled in construction-related higher education courses pursue careers in homebuilding. A loss of skilled workers during the last recession with 40-50% leaving the industry, has also left a significant gap. Furthermore, the workforce is rapidly ageing, with 25% of the current workers over the age of 50 posing a risk of a “retirement cliff edge” in the coming years. As well as ensuring apprenticeship routes are right, ensuring Further Education college courses are providing the training required to produce ‘work ready’ students is essential to tackling these shocking statistics.
This weekend’s announcements broaden work underway within the sector to increase employee engagement with colleges to ensure courses are tailored to deliver the correct training to ensure students leave with employable skills. Providing more money for technical colleges to develop courses will also support this, whilst the industry is committed to continuing to develop the ‘skills hubs’ that were initially proposed through the home building sector plan.
HBF is urging the government to work alongside home builders to implement the industry plan sector plan and create a blueprint of how we recruit enough key trades to deliver new homes target. While the replacement of the Apprenticeship Levy with the new Growth and Skills Levy is welcomed, the industry should be consulted on how the replacement is developed to ensure that it is fit for purpose.
‘A Hard Hat to Fill’ will be launched today at an HBF parliamentary reception sponsored by Lauren Edwards MP, Chair of the Skills, Careers, and Employment APPG, and aims to highlight the diverse entry routes and training opportunities available in the home building industry.
MPs and Lords from across the political spectrum will attend the reception and meet apprentices, trainees, and graduates from the industry, as well as representatives from developers nationwide to hear first-hand about their experiences entering the workforce and celebrate their successes and contributions.
The event, alongside the findings from HBF’s recent research, supports the home building industry’s call for the Government to further support apprenticeship and other routes into the sector.