Housebuilders in
England are heavily reliant on foreign labour and will need continued access to
skilled EU workers post Brexit to deliver the Government’s housing targets an
extensive new census of the workforce shows.
The Home Builders
Federation has carried out the survey
of 37,167 workers on over a thousand (1090) of its members’ sites. It reveals:
- 19.7% of workers on house
building sites across the country are ‘non UK’
- 56.3% of workers on London
sites are from overseas
- Over 1 in 5 of workers in the
SE are from overseas
- 17.9% of workers in the East
of England and 10.5% in the SW are from overseas
- In Yorkshire/Humber just 1.8%
are non UK; 5.9% in the NW
- 15% of bricklayers are non-UK
workers (48.5% in London)
- Non UK workers tend to be
younger with less as a % over 50.
Official statistics
suggest that 12.6% of general construction workers across the UK are
foreign-born, of which 5.7% are from EU-accession countries. The census
suggests the reliance of housebuilding on foreign workers is heavier than the
wider construction industry.
With housebuilding
such a key priority for Government, the industry is calling on ministers to
recognise the needs of house builders.
The census shows
that reliance on foreign labour is the heaviest in the South East, where
housing demand is acutest, and in-particular London where over half of workers
are from abroad. With housing supply in the capital at its highest since the
1930s but still well short of what is needed, safeguarding and growing this
workforce is of vital importance.
The census also
shows the increasing risk the industry faces from an ageing workforce and how
the potential reliance on EU workers will grow in the coming years. Whilst over
22% of UK passport holders working in the industry are over 50, only 10% of EU
workers are in that age bracket. Around 70% from the EU are in the 20-39 age
group compared to only around a half of those born in the UK.
The house building
industry has increased output by 74% in the past four years and last year saw
217k additions to the housing stock. The industry has recruited and trained
tens of thousands of UK based workers in recent years and is committed to
totally reforming to its attraction and training regimes. But with
Government setting a challenging target of 300k additional homes a year by 2025
industry capacity remains a huge challenge. As the industry looks to increase
output HBF will be working with ministers and officials to ensure that existing
capacity is not threatened while builders continue to work to attract the next
generation of home builders into the industry.
The industry has
provided the census to ministers and officials, as well as the Migration
Advisory Committee and is asking Government to:
- Secure the status for
existing employees as quickly as possible
- Ensure house building roles
are represented in future immigration arrangements.
Stewart Baseley,
executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation said: “The results of this
census clearly demonstrate the reliance the industry currently has on non UK
workers. Output is up a massive 74% in recent years but achieving the very
challenging targets set by Government will require further big increases in
workforce capacity.
"Whilst the
industry is investing heavily in recruiting and training young people leaving
our schools, colleges and universities, continued access to overseas workers is
absolutely essential.”
