Skilled trades are ‘massive silver bullet for Britain’s ailing jobs market’

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John Dunne @jhdunne23 February 2021

A severe shortage of builders, plumbers and carpenters offers job opportunities for Britain’s growing number of unemployed, a trades industry boss has said.

Carl Goulding, a director at the UK’s growing online find-a-tradesperson service MyBuilder.com expressed his “deep concern” at latest ONS figures which show 1.7million unemployed in the UK, and that joblessness is particularly affecting those aged under-25.

Unemployment edged higher to 5.1% in December but the Government’s furlough scheme continued to prevent a steep rise in job losses in the run-up to Christmas, data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Federation of Master Builders, a shortage of bricklayers and carpenters now extends to other key trades including roofers and plumbers. Of the 15 trades and occupations monitored by the FMB, 40% reported shortages.

Mr Goulding said: “Today’s unemployment figures make for unsettling reading – especially when a major solution to the crisis is staring us right in the face. The skilled trades offer a massive silver bullet for Britain’s ailing jobs market.

“The industry is facing the perfect storm of supply shortages, an exodus of migrant workers because of Brexit, and ambitions for housebuilding and infrastructure projects from the government’s Get Britain Building strategy: yet, there’s never been a more precarious time for the industry.”

A shrinking migrant workforce and a shortage of younger people entering the trades to replace those approaching retirement poses a threat to Britain’s post-pandemic recovery, he said.

The skills crunch could derail the PM’s plan - announced last September - to ‘Get Britain Building’ and leave homeowners struggling to find tradespeople for essential repairs and maintenance, he claimed. The government announced sweeping planning reforms, a raft of ambitious plans to build schools and energy efficient homes and a drive for energy-efficient upgrades to existing properties.

New research conducted for MyBuilder found that over half of Brits (58%) believe there is a shortage of tradespeople in the UK and over a third (37%) struggled to book a tradesperson when they needed one, an issue of particular concern for those living in Scotland (46%), Wales (43%), Northern Ireland (42%) and the West Midlands (40%).

The survey of 2,000 people by Opinium found almost a quarter of people (21%) in London would consider would consider reskilling or learning a skilled trade, while 74% of parents in London would encourage their child to enter a career in the skilled trades.

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