Skilled Trades The UK’s Most In-Demand Workers

Skilled trades are among the most in-demand workers in the UK, as concerns about a shortage of experienced staff in the construction sector continue to grow.

The monthly Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) / KPMG Report on Jobs revealed that there was a strong growth in demand for staff across all sectors of the economy in July.

It also showed that construction workers were the most sought after type of both permanent employees and temporary agency workers during the month, but that the availability of people with the required skills had fallen sharply.

Kevin Green, CEO of the REC, said: “The demand for staff in UK construction shows the industry is rising out of the recession. But without more people skilled, available and willing to take jobs as site managers, joiners and electricians we can’t build the new homes and infrastructure that this country desperately needs.”

The findings echo those of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, which published a report in January that showed ‘skills shortage jobs’ accounted for 22% of all vacancies in the country, with skilled trades identified as the area with the biggest shortfall of workers.

While the length of time it takes to train as a plumber, electrician, bricklayer or joiner means there is no immediate solution to the problem, there are steps construction, fit-out and buildings maintenance companies can take to minimise the effect it has on their projects.

One of them is to use a specialist recruitment agency to supply skilled trades on a temporary basis.

At Kalcrest we have extensive experience of providing skilled trades for jobs across the UK, so have an established pool of reference-checked workers available for both short and long-term assignments.

If your company is searching for temporary labour or you just want more information about Kalcrest’s services, please contact us.