UK Construction Sector Loses 46% Of Skilled EU Workers

The UK construction sector has lost 46% of its skilled EU workers, according to research by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, as Brexit and Covid-19 lead to staff shortages. New research reveals that in 2019, a total of 113,000 EU-born professionals worked in the UK’s skilled construction and building trade. That’s a 46% decrease from previous ONS data, which listed 208,000 skilled EU workers. Construction industry experts now warn that the exodus of skilled EU workers is the result of Brexit as well as Covid-19 and requires immediate Government attention to avoid staff shortages. Read more on the pbctoday website.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/hr-skills-news/skilled-eu-workers/87732/

Construction Industry Could Lose 8% Of Workforce Post-Brexit

New RICS figures reveal that the UK construction industry could lose almost 200,000 EU workers post-Brexit should Britain lose access to the single market, putting some of the country’s biggest infrastructure and construction projects under threat.

·         8% of UK construction workforce comes from the EU

·         Post-Brexit, should UK lose access to single market, 176,500 jobs could be under threat

·         Industry is already facing skills shortages, jeopardising a predicted £500 billion project pipeline

Read more on the RICS website.

Curb On EU Workers 'Will Cut New Homes By Half'

One of the country’s largest housebuilders has warned that cutting off the supply of EU workers to Britain’s building sites could halve the number of homes being built. The warning adds to fears that curbing migration as part of Brexit plans could worsen Britain’s already chronic housing crisis and blow a hole in the last Government’s ambitions to build one million houses in the next five years.

Rob Perrins, chief executive of housebuilder Berkeley Group, said: ‘Half the workers who build Britain’s homes are European nationals. So if we get migration wrong, costs will go up and we’ll probably deliver half as many homes. The debate about work permits is one of the single most important issues during the negotiations to leave.’ Read more on the Daily Mail website.