The CITB’s Construction Skills Network (CSN) report for 2025–2029 confirms what the industry already feels on the ground: the UK needs 47,860 additional construction workers every year for the next four years.
That’s not a target. It’s the minimum required to deliver the pipeline of work already committed — housing, infrastructure, retrofit, and commercial development.
The numbers behind the headline
The CSN data paints a detailed picture by trade and region. The sharpest shortages are in:
- Retrofit and energy efficiency roles — driven by the push toward net zero and PAS 2035 compliance
- Skilled trades — bricklayers, electricians, and plumbers remain critically short
- Project management and supervision — an ageing workforce with limited succession planning
London and the South East account for the largest share of demand, but shortages are national. Every region in England, plus Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, shows projected shortfalls.
Recruitment alone won’t solve it
The reflex response to workforce shortages is to recruit harder. But 82% of construction firms already report recruitment difficulties — the worst of any UK sector (BCC Q3 2024). The talent pool is shrinking, not growing.
The employers who will navigate this successfully are those investing in workforce visibility: understanding what skills they already have, where the gaps are forming, and how to develop, retain and redeploy the people they’ve got.
What employers can do today
- Map your current capability — you can’t plan around gaps you can’t see
- Track competence, not just compliance — a valid card is not the same as a competent worker
- Invest in retention — career pathways and visible progression reduce turnover
- Connect training to gaps — stop buying courses and start closing specific skills deficits
This is exactly what yfor was built for. If you want to see how your workforce maps against these projections, get in touch.