New Skills England figures highlight the scale of the qualification challenge facing construction as the industry prepares for major workforce growth over the next decade.
Nearly half a million extra workers needed
Skills England projects that employment across 30 priority construction occupations will need to increase by 493,000 workers between 2025 and 2035.
Of that projected additional employment, 59% is expected to require workers with Level 2 or Level 3 qualifications.
That figure is significant because it shows that the construction skills challenge is not simply about increasing headcount. The industry also needs to make sure the people entering and progressing through construction have the skills and qualifications required for the roles employers will increasingly need to fill.
Skills England also estimates that around 595,000 workers will need to be replaced between 2026 and 2035 as people leave priority construction occupations.
Taken together, the figures point to a substantial workforce challenge over the next decade, with construction needing to attract new entrants while also replacing experience that is leaving the industry.
Catherine Storer, Executive Director at Essential Site Skills, said:
“The 59% figure really stood out to me because it shows just how important qualification and progression are going to be.
“There is understandably a lot of focus on attracting new people into construction, but that is only one part of the picture. The industry also needs to develop the people already working in it and make sure they have clear routes to progress into the skilled, supervisory and management roles that will be needed.”
Construction cannot recruit its way out of the skills challenge
For employers, the pressure to recruit new workers is likely to continue, but building future capability will also mean looking closely at the workforce they already have.
Across construction, many experienced workers have developed substantial practical skills on site over a number of years but may not yet hold the formal qualifications that reflect the level at which they are working.
Vocational qualifications can provide an important route for that competence to be formally recognised, while also supporting progression into more senior roles.
Catherine added:
“There are experienced people across construction doing highly skilled jobs every day whose competence has been developed through years of practical work.
“For many of those workers, progression does not mean starting again in a classroom. It can mean having the skills they already use recognised through the right qualification and giving them a clearer route to move forward.
“That matters not only for the individual, but for employers who need to retain experience and develop the people already within their teams.”
NVQs are one example of how experienced workers can demonstrate occupational competence in the workplace rather than following a traditional classroom-based route.
They can also support progression across a wide range of construction occupations, including operative, skilled trade, supervisory and management roles.
Building the workforce construction will need
The Skills England figures underline the scale of the challenge facing employers over the coming years.
Recruiting new workers will remain important, but so will retaining experienced people, recognising existing competence and creating progression routes that allow workers to move into roles where demand is expected to grow.
Catherine said:
“The industry is going to need more people, but it also needs to make better use of the skills it already has.
“Employers have a huge amount of experience within their existing teams. Helping those workers gain qualifications, progress and take on greater responsibility has to be part of long-term workforce planning.
“If construction is going to meet the demand ahead, qualification and progression cannot be treated as something separate from the wider skills shortage. They are part of the same challenge.”
Essential Site Skills has also published a detailed guide to the UK construction skills shortage in 2026, looking at workforce demand, retention, competency and how training and qualifications can help employers prepare for future skills needs.
