New surveyor chief Justin Sullivan has warned that construction skills shortages “could undermine” Labor’s plans to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years.
Sullivan, president of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, added that the construction industry was suffering from a “significant skills shortage” and encouraging the next generation to enter the industry would be one of his priorities this year.
He said: “The UK faces many challenges – we need to build more homes but face skills shortages which could undermine these plans.”
Sullivan (pictured)’s comments underscore the task facing the government as it works to deliver on its election manifesto promise to build 1.5 million homes over the next five years. About one million homes have been built in the country over the past five years.
Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government formally set a comprehensive target for local councils to build 370,000 homes a year, up from about 220,000 in recent years.
Home building on this scale hasn’t hit since the late 1970s.
Sullivan, who was sworn in as Rics’ 143rd president yesterday, added that recruiting construction professionals from abroad would be difficult.
He said: “Surveyors and other built environment professionals are in high demand globally, particularly in regions where the construction industry is booming, such as the Middle East.
“We must also develop an increasingly popular profession that is open to people of all backgrounds and identities – a key building block for getting more young people into the profession.”
Sullivan, founder and chief executive of construction consultancy Adair, yesterday replaced former Rics president Tina Paillet.
Last month, the House Builders Federation responded to the need for new workers to enter the industry.
The report said that for every 10,000 new homes built, the industry would need around 30,000 new workers across 12 trades, including bricklayers, plumbers, roofers and plasterers.
The housebuilding body said that while the industry “has the capacity to achieve current levels of construction, tens of thousands of new staff will need to be recruited if we are to meet our targets”.
