The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned that some of the country’s biggest infrastructure and construction projects could be under threat after its survey revealed that 8% of UK construction workforce comes from the EU.

RICS has cautioned that for Brexit to succeed, it is essential to secure continued access to the EU Single Market or to put alternative plans in place to safeguard the future of the property and construction sectors in the UK.

Latest RICS figures show that eight per cent of the UK’s construction workers are EU nationals, accounting for some 176,500 people. Thirty per cent of the construction professionals surveyed revealed that hiring non-UK workers was important to the success of their businesses.

While some overseas professionals such as ballet dancers are regarded as critical by the UK government, and are therefore prioritised during the visa application process, construction professions have not yet been added to the ‘UK Shortage Occupations List’.

Given that the UK is already in the grip of a construction skills crisis, RICS is warning that this could already be placing the UK’s predicted £500 billion infrastructure pipeline under threat and must be addressed as a priority.

When asked about the effectiveness of current plans to address the UK’s long-term skills shortages, 20 per cent of respondents to the survey felt that apprenticeship schemes were not effective at all.

RICS head of UK policy, Jeremy Blackburn, said: “It is in all our interests that we make a success of Brexit, but a loss of access to the single market, has the potential to slowly bring the UK’s £500bn infrastructure pipeline to a standstill. That means that unless access to the single market is secured or alternative plans are put in place, we won’t be able to create the infrastructure needed to enable our cities to compete on a global stage. We have said before that this is a potential stumbling block for the government, which is working to deliver both its housing white paper and industrial strategy.

“A simple first step would be to ensure that construction professions, such as quantity surveyors, feature on the UK shortage occupations list. Ballet dancers won’t improve our infrastructure or solve the housing crisis, yet their skills are currently viewed as essential, whereas construction professionals are not.”

He added: “Of course, we must also address the need to deliver a construction and property industry that is resilient to future change and can withstand the impact of any future political or economic shocks — key to that will be growing the domestic skills base. As the industry’s professional body, we are working with government and industry to develop that skills base, building vital initiatives, such as degree apprenticeships, in our sector to drive the talent pipeline forward. This survey reveals that more work needs to be done to promote the indisputable benefits of these schemes to industry – RICS intends to take this forward as a priority.”

Unite acting general secretary Gail Cartmail, said: “This survey demonstrates once again that the government’s failure to guarantee the rights of existing EU citizens is playing fast and loose with the well-being of the UK economy. The ongoing uncertainty over the rights of EU citizens to remain in the UK post-Brexit is already resulting in workers voting with their feet and leaving the UK.

“This will exacerbate the deepening construction skills crisis, resulting in projects being delayed or cancelled, which will damage the health of the industry.

“It is essential that the government wakes up to the threat faced to the UK construction industry by reversing decades of neglect and massively increasing the number of high quality apprenticeships so the UK can increasingly become self-sufficient.

“This will not be achieved unless the government introduces strict public procurement policies forcing companies bidding for all public sector contracts to recruit and train high numbers of apprentices. The lassiez faire model of construction apprentice training has been an unmitigated failure.”

RICS is calling on the UK government to secure a Brexit deal that supports the construction, property and land sectors by: