Hughie Clarke, a Director at multi-disciplinary property consultancy EDGE, shares his thoughts on the ongoing labour challenges in the UK construction sector.

The UK construction sector is no stranger to ups and downs, but the current skilled labour shortage is one of the most acute challenges in recent times. From bricklayers and electricians to engineers and steel erectors, skilled trades are becoming harder to source – bringing uncertainty to projects across the country.

At EDGE, we’re seeing significant challenges in the availability of experienced site-based labour. Brexit has removed thousands of EU-born tradespeople from the workforce, while the average age of a UK construction worker has risen to over 50. Unfortunately, as the apprenticeship pipeline can’t keep pace, we could see a genuine shortage in knowledge-sharing as this older generation begins to retire or leave the industry.

Many young people are also being drawn to perceived ‘more exciting’ tech-driven areas of the sector, such as sustainability, robotics and digital construction.

Geography is also a factor right now. EDGE delivers projects across London, the Midlands, North West and Yorkshire – regions with larger and younger labour pools. But in more remote areas, such as Cornwall and Cumbria, we have witnessed projects often relying upon importing skills from elsewhere, such as Northern Ireland, and face hurdles in meeting local employment and social value requirements. Large infrastructure schemes such as HS2 or defence estate work also pull resource away from local and mid-sized developments, deepening the imbalance.

This skills disconnect is impacting programme certainty. For clients, labour shortages can lead to extended timelines and rising costs. For contractors, the gap makes it difficult to provide robust, reliable programme and budget forecasts – often leaving them at risk to financial exposure.

Early-stage market testing, risk analysis and thoughtful procurement strategies are essential in today’s construction landscape. To counter the shortage of skilled on-site workers, exploring alternative delivery methodologies — including material selection, modern methods of construction, and automation — is becoming more important than ever.

Even with this more agile approach, the gap between supply and demand for skilled labour is widening. Government investment, such as the recent £625 million construction skills funding, is a welcome step. But it must be paired with sustained efforts to change perceptions of the industry.

We need to engage with schools, further education institutes and communities to highlight the career progression construction offers and challenge outdated stigmas around traditional BTEC trades. Given the right support, a bricklayer today could realistically become a project manager within years. We must celebrate these pathways and make them more visible to young people and their parents. In a world where AI is likely to radicalise professional services, having a core trade should become a very attractive proposition once again.

Supporting the next generation of construction professionals is a responsibility shared across the industry. EDGE provides an annual degree apprenticeship programme in Cost Management across our six regional offices, investing in school outreach, and embed education into our ESG strategy. This isn’t just about filling jobs – it’s about building the future workforce that the UK’s construction sector so urgently needs