As of the end of 2023, there were 783,000 self-employed tradespeople in the UK. But the ongoing skills shortage in the industry means it’s struggling to recover pre-pandemics levels of productivity and employment.
New research from Simply Business digs into the trends, and discovers what the skills shortage would look like in 2030, if nothing was to change. Read on to find out which trades will be most affected by the skills shortage and what the new government might do to try and solve it.
What will the skills shortage look like in 2030?
If the number of new tradespeople continues to decrease at the rate revealed by Simply Business data, we could see a 22 per cent drop in self-employed tradespeople by 2030.
This comes as a part of a broader issue in the construction industry, where a lack of skilled workers has affected productivity. With the sector experiencing a slowdown of 1.4 per cent in the first part of the year.
Interestingly, the slowdown in productivity isn’t linked to a lack of demand for work, with construction’s predicted revenue being £404bn for 2024. Which suggests there aren’t enough workers to meet the demands for work.
This has led to an average wait time for a UK tradesperson of five weeks – and as high as nine weeks for roofers. When drilling down into specific trades, you can see that some sectors might be more in demand than others.
Which trades will be most affected by the skills shortage?
To understand which trades are experiencing the biggest decreases, we looked at the number of new tradespeople who have been trading less than a year who requested a Simply Business quote form in 2019 to 2023.
Decrease in tradespeople from 2019 to 2023:
- dry lining – 57 per cent
- joiners – 53 per cent
- builder – 51 per cent
- glaziers – 49 per cent
- tilers – floor and wall – 48 per cent
- bricklayer – 45 per cent
- labourer – 44 per cent
- plasterer – 44 per cent
- painter and decorator – 39 per cent
What’s causing the skills shortage?
Our industry predictions for the year told a similar story: there are not enough young people entering the industry to replace an ageing workforce.
A report from Kingerfisher, the owners of Screwfix and B&Q, includes data based on a survey of 1,000 people aged 16 to 25, asking them about their work ambitions and whether they’ve considered a career as a tradesperson.
Half of the people surveyed (49 per cent) said they’ve never considered a career in the trades and only 13 per cent said they were encouraged at school to consider a career as a tradesperson.
Another reason the industry is feeling the effects of the shortage more than hospitality, for example, is due to a lack of diversity in the workforce. Women make up only two per cent of the UK’s nearly a million customers tradespeople.
What’s the impact of the skills shortage?
It’s estimated the skills shortage will mean the UK misses out on £12 billion a year in GDP opportunities, according to Kingfisher’s report. Not having enough workers to complete projects like large housing estates or redeveloping high streets might make certain areas of the economy stagnate.
Bea Montoya, UK COO at Simply Business, shared similar concerns: “small business owners are the backbone of the UK economy, and few embody this more than the nation’s tradespeople. They’re quite simply vital for our local communities, and together with other small businesses across the UK, collectively contribute trillions of pounds to the economy.”
The report found one in five tradespeople have had to turn down or postpone work because they don’t have the staff to complete the job.
The broader economic strain on businesses as a result of the cost of living crisis is also making it difficult for these businesses to grow. Data from our SME Insights Report revealed that 23 per cent of business owners are putting off hiring new employees because of rising costs.
As a result, even if a business wants or needs to hire a new employee, many might not want to risk it because of the increased operational costs they’re facing.
What’s being done to solve it?
Since the change in government at the general election, Labour have shared their plans around solving the skills shortage, while also hoping to rejuvenate construction.
To try and make it easier for young people and small businesses to make the most of apprenticeships, they’re looking to replace the current Apprenticeship Levy with a Growth and Skills Levy. The idea is this will allow small businesses more flexibility in how they train their workforce, and potentially attract more young people to the industry.
The government has also announced their strategy for new constructions projects, with plans to:
- build 1.5 million new homes, creating opportunities for small businesses and tradespeople
- strengthen planning capacity by hiring more than 300 new planners across the public sector
- reduce red tape in the current building planning system
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), emphasised the important role small builders will play in these plans: “Bringing SMEs on board with new town development will ensure high quality and diverse housing is delivered, while also creating wider benefits, like vocational skills opportunities.”
Kingfisher’s report laid out three strategies the government could focus on to help more young people consider a career in the trades:
- Career advice in schools to encourage young people to take up a trade career.
- Improved hiring incentives to support SMEs in taking on, training, and retaining apprentices.
- Cost of living support to make sure trade apprenticeships are financially viable for young people.
Have you experienced a skill shortage when hiring for your business? Let us know how it’s affected your business in the comments below.
More useful articles for tradespeople
- What is an ESG strategy?
- What are the top earning trades?
- What is the Construction Industry Scheme?
- Does public liability insurance cover employees?
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