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Construction Industry Could Lose 200,000 Workers due to Brexit, warns RICS
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
The UK construction industry could lose around 200,000 EU workers due to Brexit, should Britain lose access to the single market, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has warned.
Construction Industry Could Lose 200,000 Workers due to Brexit, warns RICS
The trade body highlighted figures showing 8% of the UK’s construction industry workers are EU nationals, accounting for some 176,500 individuals, while 35% of construction professionals surveyed revealed that hiring non-UK workers was important to the success of their businesses.
RICS warns that losing these skills would put some of the country’s biggest infrastructure and construction projects under threat.
The organisation 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 industries in the UK.
Suggestions include allowing skilled workers from outside the UK to be able to passport their services in a similar way to international financial services firms.
RICS is also calling for professionals in the construction industry, such as quantity surveyors, to feature on the Shortage Occupations List, making it easier for them to be allowed to work in the UK.
The Head of Policy at RICS, Jeremy Blackburn, says: “A simple first step would be to ensure that construction professions, such as quantity surveyors, feature on the 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.
“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.”
He continues: “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, and RICS intends to take this forward as a priority.”
