Construction

Skills pressures remain acute. Employers report severe shortages in site managers, quantity surveyors, civil engineers and key trades such as bricklayers, joiners, plasterers and groundworkers. Reduced EU migration has intensified these gaps, while a disconnect between college training and on-site requirements continues to limit job readiness. Demand is also rising for digital competencies (BIM, digital site management, estimating software and drone surveying) alongside essential SMSTS/SSSTS supervision skills and qualifications for scaffolding and working at height. Future growth will also depend on embedding green construction skills, particularly retrofitting and heat pump installation, needed to meet both net zero and national housing commitments.

A dedicated Construction Sector Skills Needs Report, commissioned by the Chamber from Silver Trowel (February 2026), reinforces this picture with fresh evidence – a stakeholder forum with 12 participants, an employer survey of 20 responses, and a review of labour market data. It found the most persistent hard-to-fill roles to be gas engineers, dry liners, roofers, scaffolders and groundworkers, with communication, positive attitude and teamwork the most commonly cited soft-skill gaps. Digital/BIM skills, green construction and modern methods of construction (MMC) were identified as the three most urgent priorities for the next three to five years.

Silver Trowel Construction Sector Skills Needs Report 2026

Construction Sector Deep Dive Evidence Report June2025