Builders wanted! Scotland is 26,000 construction workers short says training board
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has warned that Scotland needs to hire 26,000 more construction workers by 2028 to meet demands.
The annual industry forecast from CITB highlights the continuing persistent gap between what Scotland needs to keep up with demand and the workforce available to meet the challenge.
With an increasing amount of work, it is forecasted that output will increase by 2.1 per cent over the next four years.
That is a lot of work for the Scottish industry which, as of 2021 had over 16,000 companies with 13 employees or less. That was 88 per cent of the industry consisting of smaller contractors unable to take on major jobs alone.
To keep up with growing output, CITB has estimated that 5,220 extra staff with have to be hired and trained every year, should the industry begin to fall behind.
In an average year the UK manages to hire 200,000 new staff, however, it also lost 210,000 in 2023, meaning the industry actually shrunk. Scotland will have to buck this trend as well as hire the extra staff if it is to avoid major delays in construction projects.
A major issue is retiring staff not being replaced, which explains the 10,000 net loss from last year.
To address the issue, CITB has invested £267m to help the industry improve diversity, quality and productivity as well as making construction a more attractive career choice for future generations.
CITB Scotland engagement director, Ian Hughes, said: “Construction is an essential sector for our regional and national economic prosperity. We anticipate continued industry growth in Scotland, but we need to meet demand with more people in the workforce with the right skills.
“CITB’s CSN report highlights how Scotland employers can address the challenge by recruiting and developing a skilled, competent and diverse workforce that is able to meet current and future needs.
“Scotland has a number of construction investments supported by City Region Deals, Regional Growth Deals and Green Freeports.
“These wide-ranging projects include the proposed debris flow shelter for the A83 at Rest & Be Thankful, the £25m hydrogen demonstration network in Fife, and £200m towards the mains replacement for Scottish Gas Networks.
“We are committed to ensuring that the skills system is fit for purpose to deliver on the great opportunities across Scotland, now and in the future. The industry has shown particular resilience throughout what has been an undeniably tough few years."
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