The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has warned the UK construction sector that it faces a crisis through the loss of skilled workers who are due to retire in the next 5-10 years.
The CITB is warning of a skills shortage ‘time bomb’ unless it recruits new skilled workers to replace over 400,000 people who work in the sector and are due to retire next year.
According to labour market research conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 19 per cent of UK construction workers aged over 55 are set to retire in the next 5-10 years and 24 per cent of workers aged 45-54 are due to retire in the next 10-20 years.
The ONS found that 37 per cent of the UK construction workforce is self-employed and 23 per cent of those, equivalent to 182,800 people, are due to retire in the next 5-10 years.
The research found that the construction sector in the East Midlands and the South West will be particularly badly hit, with 22 per cent of workers, 31,900 in the East Midlands and 39,500 in the South West planning to leave the sector in the next 5-10 years.
In London, which has the largest number of construction workers in the UK, at 318,000, just 12 per cent are due to retire in the next 5-10 years.
The CITB is encouraging employers to plan for the future by providing information, training and apprenticeships to the many young people who are just leaving school or college.
William Burton, CITB interim chief executive, said: “Almost one in five workers is set to retire from the construction industry over the next 5-10 years, so not taking action now to encourage young people to join the industry – and investing in the training to up-skill our existing workforce – is no longer an option.
“The construction sector is essential for local and national economic growth and to avoid the similar skills crisis that affected the industry in the early 1990’s, we urge employers to act now.”
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