Business News Skills shortage could hamper economy


A chronic shortage of plumbers, electricians and carpenters could hamper economic growth over the next 10 years and stoke up home repair bills and house prices, a new HomeServe Foundation report has revealed. According to the Homeserve


Foundation’s ‘UK Trades Skills Index’, the UK must urgently expand its apprenticeship schemes, with new construction trades apprentices needed to fill the void left behind by an ageing workforce, Covid-hit skills shortage and a drain of European skilled labour. A fifth of construction workers


are aged 55 or over and will retire before 2030, an estimated 20,000- plus EU construction workers left Britain in 2020 and the report predicts another 22 per cent drop by 2030.


‘Through this new index of trades skills we can clearly see the industry faces a perfect storm’


Within the construction sector,


the report reveals a need to recruit 228,000 key trades apprentices. Just under two thirds (61 per cent) of those are plumbers, electricians and joiners. Without plugging a 1.25 million


recruitment gap for construction workers, and a projected 305,000 shortfall in construction sector apprenticeship numbers, over the next decade, home repair bills and house prices could rocket, as demand for home improvements


looks set to significantly outstrip capacity, the report says. The report calculated that


investment required to plug the gap (based on current spending levels), would eventually pay off, netting a cumulative £1.5bn for the Exchequer through taxes paid and benefits saved and lower government borrowing. This was calculated under the assumption that the increase in apprenticeship recruitment begins this year. Without a plan to tackle the


projected chronic lack of trade skill apprenticeships, the HomeServe Foundation say that the shortfall could “seriously hamper” economic recovery after the pandemic. Helen Booth, director of the HomeServe Foundation, said: “Through this new index of trades skills we can clearly see the industry faces a perfect storm. “We have an ageing workforce, a


chronic trades skills shortage made worse by the impacts of Covid and a European skilled labour drain


which will, if unchecked, deplete the UK’s trades skills base to crisis levels and seriously hamper our nation’s economic recovery. “If this is not tackled now – by


making it simpler for trade businesses to grow and by scaling up the training and recruitment of apprentices in time – the consequences will be bleak, not just for the industry but for the Government’s plan to kick-start the economy and reach its net zero milestones over the next decade.”


Support service for climate risk reports


Strategic specialists Contented Communications have launched a ‘Net Zero’ consulting support service to help firms benefit from tougher reporting requirements on climate risk. It follows a new mandate by the Government


that businesses must publish the risks and potential impact of their operations on the environment. The first reports to be affected are due in early


2022, aligned with the Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), with the whole economy expected to be involved by 2025. Investors, lenders and regulators already require that businesses publicly report the financial risk in their operations. Contented say that, under pressure from


consumers and investors, CEOs of listed companies are increasingly committing to tough environmental targets across their value chains, driving a demand for climate data from their suppliers.


It means a significant competitive advantage


to those suppliers who understand the implications and take a strategic approach to embedding sustainability into their operations Done well, this can improve their reputation


and access to finance, as well as helping net new contracts, the communications consultants say.


‘We can help companies build and run systems to gather data and reassure everyone you have matters in hand’


The company is providing free introductory


workshops, supported by Aston Business School, to help companies understand why and how to introduce climate change and sustainability into their operations. These virtual sessions are part of a programme developed by Contented with experts from the university.


Director Gerard Davies, also a visiting


industrial fellow at Aston University, said: “Recognising companies’ impact is a tremendous opportunity for innovation. We can help companies build and run systems to gather data and reassure everyone you have matters in hand. Understanding a prospect’s sustainability strategy and your own impact on society and the environment could be a valuable differentiator.” Contented principal Felicia Jackson, a member


of the Centre for Sustainable Finance at SOAS, University of London, said it was imperative that businesses understand how climate and sustainability risk are changing economic models and patterns. She said: “This year companies have a chance to stand-out for their thought- leadership. Next year, they might stick out for their lack of preparation.”


Email enquiry@contented.net or visit contented.net/go-net-zero


March 2021 CHAMBERLINK 23


Helen Booth: Industry faces a perfect storm


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