A new report has revealed the shortage of skilled workers is pushing pay in the building trade higher…
A new report from the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) has revealed a lack of skilled workers has seen wages rise.
According to the report, bricklayers are being paid up to £25 an hour as building firms find it difficult to recruit skilled workers. In fact, the report stated that some bricklayers were banking up to £1,000 a week, with the rates in London set particularly high.
The news comes a month after the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) published their latest State of Trade Survey for quarter one, 2016. This revealed an expectation from construction bosses that salaries would increase sharply over the next six months due to the continuing skills shortage.
Skills problem continues to grow
The shortage of skilled workers is not a new problem and is one that has seen the government attempt to intercede to overcome the issue. However, the report showed the feeling among the sector, finding that the shortage of skilled workers is seen as one of the main risks to progression in construction.
EU exit could put more pressure on the sector
REC chief executive Kevin Green said: “If you work in construction you can expect to be earning £34 a week more than last year, and our data indicates that some employers are increasing pay faster as the competition for skilled workers intensifies.
“Whilst this is great news for builders and tradesmen, there are hard questions that need to be asked about the sustainability of this trend. The UK is close to full employment and building firms are already struggling to find the people needed for major infrastructure projects.
“If Britain leaves the EU there’s no doubt that recruitment for some construction roles will become even more of a challenge.
“Whatever the outcome of the EU referendum we need to address deep-seated skills shortages. That means more apprenticeships, greater investment in skills development by employers, better careers guidance in schools, and more work experience opportunities so that young people are shown the potential benefits of a career in construction.”
REC said three out of five recruitment agencies were finding demand for temporary staff has grown. Recruiters also expressed the belief that leaving the EU would add more pressure to the increasing skills shortage.
