Checkatrade Warns of Shortage of Skilled Tradespeople

As demand in home improvements rise and EU migrants leave the UK, Checkatrade boss Richard Harpin warns of a shortage of skilled trade workers.

Mr Harpin, who also founded emergency repair service Homeserve, says the shortages are “pretty bad” across the country. According to him, the problem exists in other trades as well as construction. This is why he wants the government to add more trades to its jobs shortage list.

The reason for the shortage in skilled tradespeople is caused by “mainly EU migrant workers going home”. Mr Harpin thinks it is important “we find a way to get them back” so we can cope with the huge demand for work.

Research in Checkatrade shows 80% of homeowners are planning improvements to their home this year. But this work is only possible if we have enough traders to complete the jobs. The demand for home improvements is only likely to increase as we have spent more time living and working inside our houses. It is inevitable that we will all continue to want more things doing.

Mr Harpin suggests two solutions to solve the issue of shortage in skilled workers. The first is a short term fix to expand the government’s list of occupations with shortages. The second, more long term plan is to encourage more school leavers to do apprenticeships, rather than go to university.

The points system

Currently, there is a very long list of skilled jobs that don’t get enough points for EU workers to return to the UK. This includes hands on trades such as bathroom fitters, kitchen installers, fencers, and locksmiths etc. The points system only allows professions such as IT analysts, vets or graphic designers to come back.

Recent reports show an increase in job vacancies in the UK, but there are not enough people to fill the available positions. Demand for workers rose at its fastest rate in 23 years when Covid restrictions eased in May, and more industries reopened. But the amount of staff available to fill the roles decreased at the quickest rate since 2017.

The sector most affected by the worker shortage is hospitality. Numbers of HGV drivers are also hitting crisis level, as there is a shortage of over 100,000. Many of those from EU member countries returned home due to Covid travel restrictions and the “uncertainty of Brexit”. Most of these drivers are not expected to return to the UK. The situation isn’t helped by the increasing demands on the supply chain.

The industry needs access to EU and EEA labour now, there is not enough time to train new people. The government are asked to introduce temporary worker visas for HGV drivers, and for the job to be added to the shortage occupation list.

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