The Guardian view on construction workers: the country needs more of them, fast
During the 1980s, the construction industry provided the backdrop to one of Britain’s best-loved television comedies. Auf Wiedersehen, Pet chronicled the progress of three Geordie bricklayers as they fled a recession-hit country to seek work in Düsseldorf. That was then. A contemporary reworking would need to start from a radically different premise.
Notwithstanding the contribution of a large migrant workforce, the modern construction sector is underpowered and dramatically understaffed. Annual job vacancies total about 38,000, half of which cannot be filled due to a shortage of skills. For a government committed to sustainably building 1.5m new homes and environmentally upgrading the existing housing stock – as well as renewing national infrastructure more generally – that is a serious problem. The Construction Industry Training Board has estimated that between now and 2029, about 240,000 new hires will be needed.
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, hopes that some of them will be alumni of 10 “new technical excellence colleges”, whose locations were © The Guardian
