Britain faces its largest skills shortage for a generation
The UK needs more plumbers, builders and engineers as the skills crisis threatens to derail attempts to re-energise the economy.
Construction and technical companies blame the recession for the lack of apprentices in the key sectors and call on government and schools to promote the trades.
The construction industry has been hit the hardest.
Mark Cahill, managing director of Manpower Group UK, said: “In London, we have seen the extraordinary statistic that one in three of the largest construction companies is having to turn down bidding opportunities due to a shortage of skilled labour.”1
He goes on to say that the shortage of skilled Britons is particularly low, pushing building firms to hire Portuguese bricklayers on wages of £1,000 a week – double the normal £500 weekly pay for bricklayers.
The Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians blames the shortfall on “a 30-year failure to train apprentices”.
In 2013, just 7,280 apprentices completed their training across all trades – Construction Skills, the training body, estimate that the industry needs 35,000 new entrants just to stand still and a lot more to grow.
The plumbing industry is feeling the impact too.
Growth in the economy since the recession means that businesses and customers are confident to spend again, causing demand for services to soar. However, the availability of trained engineers is heading in the opposite direction.
Charlie Mullins, chief executive of Pimlico Plumbers, notes that this is an excellent opportunity for experienced plumbers to cash in, highlighting that plumbers can earn up to £100,000 a year.
1 The Guardian, 2015. UK needs plumbers, builders and engineers as skills crisis hits economy. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/feb/10/uk-plumbers-builders-engineers-skill-crisis-economy. [Accessed 2nd March 2015].