An increasing skills shortage in the UK construction industry is causing London's largest building contractors to turn down one in two bidding opportunities and driving up costs so much that contractors are putting up prices by 10% in London, says a poll by Aecom. It added that some of the industry has already cut their exposure to the residential market due to fears, which we previously noted, that London's house price boom may start to falter. The survey also found that more than half (53 per cent) of builders believe they will be unable to compete with overseas firms if there isn't enough skilled labour on British sites. Big UK housebuilders, Barratt and Bovis released warnings about skills shortages and suffering profit margins, respectively.
An increasing skills shortage in the UK construction industry is causing London's largest building contractors to turn down one in two bidding opportunities and driving up costs so much that contractors are putting up prices by 10% in London, says a poll by Aecom. It added that some of the industry has already cut their exposure to the residential market due to fears, which we previously noted, that London's house price boom may start to falter. Though the government has promised to tackle the housing shortages with plans to accelerate building, skills shortages are likely to impact this strategy. Big UK housebuilders, Barratt and Bovis released warnings about skills shortages and suffering profit margins, respectively.