36,000 new workers required to meet construction need in Scotland

Research from consultant Arcadis has suggested that failure to address the skills gulf could even see the earnings of some tradespeople sky-rocketing inside a generation, leading to the rise of what it call the ‘Minted’ workforce - the Most in Need Trades Earning Double.

Developed to measure the true extent of the skills crisis across the UK’s entire infrastructure and house building workforce, the Arcadis Talent Scale takes into account regional variations in demand, current employment figures, estimates as to the increase in labour requirements and projected attrition rates.

The study reveals that, of the 400,000 workers that need to be recruited nationally across the UK, almost one in ten (35,932) need to be located in Scotland if the region is to meet its housing and infrastructure requirements.

The greatest need is for carpenters and joiners, where demand accounts for nearly one sixth of all national resource requirements.

Plumbers, electricians, and bricklayers are also in high demand, particularly in the labour-intensive housebuilding sector.

The report also identifies a need for over 7,400 civil engineers, 7,300 quantity surveyors and 26,400 construction directors.

With major ambitions for bolstering housing supply and easing pressure on infrastructure, such as the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision to make the Scottish capital a connected and thriving city, it is expected that companies will need to draw heavily on the common talent pool of transferable skills if delivery targets are to be achieved.

Key skills needed across Scotland each year to fulfil house building and infrastructure needs 2016-2021 (an excerpt)