Simon Harris, managing director of construction, property and engineering recruitment at Randstad UK, said a combination of mega construction projects already underway in the UK and projects that are yet to begin — such as water infrastructure developments, the construction of the Lower Thames Crossing, the expansion of the National Grid, and the Stonehenge Tunnel — as well as the imminent resurgence of the housing building market, is set to intensify the current talent shortage and lead to a “brutal labour shortage.”

The construction labour force was approximately 2,600,000 strong in 2008, whereas at the end of 2023, the sector was 465,000 workers smaller, employing 2,100,000 people.

Simon says existing projects — which include HS2, the Thames Tideway, and Hinkley Point — are already stretching the workforce.

HS2 employs 30,000 people now and HS2 and its contractors are still actively recruiting hundreds of new roles.

Construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel is ongoing and won’t be complete until 2025.

EDF has confirmed the new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point won’t be finished any time this decade.

And Sizewell C, which is only at the stage of the enabling work, is already creating hundreds of job vacancies. The construction of Sizewell C is expected to commence in this year, with construction taking between nine and 12 years; the project is set to create thousands of jobs.

Furthermore, housebuilding is set to make a resurgence with analysts reporting that interest rates have peaked and will soon start to fall.

The Bank of England will lower the base interest rate to 3% by the end of 2025, according to analysis by research firm Capital Economics — forecasting the first rate cut for June 2024.