Worsening skills shortages in the construction sector could threaten around 27,000 projects a year by 2019, according to new data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The research found that due to the severity of the skills shortages facing businesses across the UK, more than four fifths (85%) of the surveyors questioned said that a lack of qualified candidates meant they had problems recruiting. RICS says the more alarming detail revealed by its research is the amount of paid work being turned down by many companies.
Around two in five (43%) surveying firms currently turn down new business opportunities due to the lack of skilled workers, with each of them passing up an average of five contracts per year. RICS says the problem will peak in the next five years, with a further 11% of the industry saying that they too will begin turning down work by 2019.
By that time, 54% of the 10,000 surveying businesses RICS regulates will be turning down approximately 27,000 projects between them each year.
Alan Muse, director of built environment professional groups at RICS, said:
“Surveyors play a pivotal role in the delivery of every construction project. Simply put, without surveyors, things don’t get built.
“That’s why our research is worrying: if so many firms are turning down work due to a lack of available talent, demand for skills will soon far outstrip the supply. For many companies, that time is already here, but the next few years look like a real tipping point – construction as an industry looks set to grow, but at this rate it’s very unlikely that we’ll have the capacity or the capability to fulfil planned projects.”
