The Construction Skills Shortage vs the 1.5 Million Homes Target: Can the Industry Deliver?
The construction skills shortage is likely the single biggest risk to the UK’s 1.5 million homes target, and most contractors bidding for work this year are already feeling it.
Vacancies for site staff, tradespeople and technical professionals are taking longer to fill, and day rates are climbing. At the same time, schedules are slipping because there just aren’t enough qualified people to go round.
For firms trying to secure reliable trades and labour or build a longer-term hiring plan, working with a specialist recruiter could be the difference between hitting a programme and missing it.
At a Glance:
- The construction skills shortage is structural, not a temporary blip, according to CITB’s own analysis.
- CITB says the industry needs 41,200 extra workers a year to 2030, more than 206,000 in total.
- Skills England forecasts 493,000 more workers needed in priority construction roles by 2035, on top of nearly 600,000 people leaving.
- Only around a quarter of the 1.5 million homes targeted had been delivered as of mid-2026, based on independent tracking.
- Firms winning the recruitment race are training people into roles early, not just fighting over the same shrinking pool.
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What’s Fuelling the UK Construction Labour Shortage?
CITB’s Industry Picture 2026 report is blunt about the cause: the skills gap is structural, and it won’t fix itself.
A large chunk of the current workforce is heading towards retirement, fewer people are entering trades through traditional routes, and productivity hasn’t improved quickly enough to close the gap. There’s also the loss of EU labour since Brexit and the fact that the training pipeline isn’t replacing leavers fast enough to contend with it.
Electricians, bricklayers, carpenters, scaffolders and roofers are consistently named as the hardest trades to fill, while quantity surveyors and commercial managers face their own separate professional squeeze.
What CITB and Skills England Data Actually Show
The CITB numbers
CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook 2026 to 2030 puts the annual shortfall at 41,200 additional workers a year, more than 206,000 across the five-year period.
That’s on top of the people already leaving the trade through retirement, so standing still simply isn’t an option for firms trying to grow.
The Skills England numbers
Skills England’s first Annual Skills Report takes an even longer-term view, forecasting that the 30 priority construction occupations will need 493,000 extra workers by 2035, a 26% increase on today’s numbers.
Around 595,000 workers in those same roles are expected to leave through retirement or career change over the same period, which means the industry is really running two recruitment problems at once, growth and replacement.
Can the Construction Industry Hit the 1.5 Million Homes Target?
Independent tracking from Full Fact shows England added around 392,400 net new homes between July 2024 and June 2026, about 26% of the 1.5 million target with roughly three years left to run. Hitting the goal now needs a sustained jump in output, not just a strong quarter, and that output depends entirely on having enough skilled people to build it.
A UK-wide construction labour shortage doesn’t just slow individual sites down; it caps how fast the whole national target can move.
Recruiting Skilled Construction Workers: What’s Actually Working?
Train people up.
One route we see working on live projects is training people into roles before they’re needed, rather than scrambling once a vacancy opens. Our ITS Framework CIC model works with contractors during pre-construction to identify upcoming roles, then puts candidates through two to three months of targeted training for tickets like Telehandler, Hoist, Slinger/Signaller and Traffic Marshal before they set foot on site.
It grows the workforce instead of just moving the same limited number of people between employers, and it doubles up as measurable social value for public sector tenders.
Cast a wider net.
Women, young workers and career changers remain a small share of the construction workforce, so there’s real headroom to bring in people who haven’t traditionally been targeted for site roles.
Ex-offenders and school leavers are also viable routes into trades when paired with proper training and support, and firms building this into their hiring plans now will be in a stronger position over the next few years than those still fighting over the same shrinking pool.
What Does this Mean for Construction Firms?
The data points the same way from every angle: demand keeps rising, new workers aren’t arriving fast enough, and the 1.5 million homes target gets harder to hit while that gap stays open.
Our expert opinion is that the firms that plan early, train rather than just chase candidates, and widen their recruitment pool will keep delivering when others stall.
Partner With a Recruitment Specialist to Overcome the Construction Skills Shortage.
ITS Construction has been recruiting for the UK building and construction sector since 1973. We place trades, labour, engineering, asbestos, mechanical and electrical (M&E) and construction professional staff on both temporary and permanent contracts through numerous branches across England. In a market this tight, working with a recruiter who knows your region and your trades matters more than ever. Get in touch to talk through your resourcing plans, or browse our job board and specialisms to see the roles we cover.
FAQs
What is causing the construction skills shortage in the UK?
The construction skills shortage is being driven by an ageing workforce, fewer new entrants through traditional training routes and the loss of EU labour since Brexit. CITB describes the gap as structural rather than temporary, meaning it won’t correct itself without sustained investment in training and career routes. Trades like electricians, bricklayers and scaffolders are consistently the hardest to fill.
Will the UK hit its 1.5 million homes target?
It’s unlikely with current progress. Independent tracking puts delivery at around a quarter of the way to the 1.5 million homes target roughly two years into the parliament, and reaching the remaining total would need a sustained jump in building rates that hasn’t shown up in the numbers yet. Labour supply is one of the key constraints holding that jump back.
How many construction workers does the UK need?
CITB estimates the UK needs around 41,200 additional construction workers a year to 2030, more than 206,000 in total. Skills England’s longer-term forecast adds to that picture, projecting 493,000 extra workers needed in priority construction roles by 2035 alongside roughly 595,000 workers expected to leave the industry over the same period.
What can construction firms do about the labour shortage?
Firms are having the most success when they train candidates into roles ahead of need rather than only competing for people who are already qualified, and when they open recruitment up to groups who haven’t traditionally been targeted for site work. Working with a specialist recruiter that knows the local market and can supply both temporary and permanent staff also shortens the time roles sit empty.
