The UK construction sector will need an additional 206,000 workers by 2030 to meet demand, according to a report from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
Its latest Construction Workforce Outlook claims the industry requires an extra 41,200 workers each year between 2026 and 2030, equivalent to 1.6 per cent of the 2025 workforce.
The report forecasts the number of people employed in construction – including the additional workers – would reach about 2.68 million by 2030.
In its previous outlook report, the CITB said 47,000 additional construction workers were needed every year until 2029.
Demand will vary across regions and disciplines, the CITB added in the new report, published on 16 June.
For example, an extra 1,510 professional and technical workers will be needed each year in Greater London, which equates to 2.3 per cent of the 2025 workforce.
An additional 14,940 skilled tradespeople and site-based workers will be required each year in England until 2030 to meet demand (equivalent to 1.4 per cent of the 2025 total).
The report notes that “too few people are entering the sector, too many experienced workers are leaving, and productivity improvements have not been sufficient to close the gap”.
Mark Reynolds, co-chair of the Construction Skills Mission Board, said the CITB’s report demonstrates the need for new workers to enter construction, and would “hopefully give employers more confidence to employ and train new entrants for the sector to continue to grow and meet its capability and capacity demands”.
Mark Farmer, industry sponsor for people and skills on the Construction Leadership Council, agreed that while the sector faces challenging economic conditions, it is still vitally important that the workforce continues to grow for the long term.
He added that “bridging the gap between current capacity to employ and train, and the imperative to build a future-ready workforce, remains the central challenge.”
Meanwhile, the report forecasts total output in construction will grow by 1.8 per cent between 2026 and 2030, with infrastructure set to increase by 2.5 per cent on average each year, new public housing by 3.6 per cent and new private housing by 2.5 per cent.
The CITB says that while construction is expected to grow over the medium term, the sector “continues to face ongoing pressures in recruiting and retaining the workforce it needs”. It adds that the picture over the short term remains “challenging”, with construction activity affected by “uncertainty and cost pressures”.
CITB chief executive Tim Balcon said the UK’s construction industry has to balance “short-term business uncertainty while ensuring there are enough skilled workers to meet the expected demand for longer-term opportunities”.
Source: Construction News