160,000 children are living in temporary housing because Britain can’t build homes fast enough. These families are crammed into B&Bs, hostels, and converted offices while waiting for permanent homes that may never come.
The reason is simple: we don’t have enough construction workers.
I’ve been analyzing the workforce numbers behind our housing crisis. The math shows current government promises will fail by a massive margin.
The Numbers
The UK construction sector has over 140,000 unfilled vacancies. Each empty position means delayed projects and families stuck in temporary housing.
The age problem makes this worse. 35% of construction workers are over 50, while only 20% are under 30. By 2035, over one-third will retire.
The government wants 1.5 million new homes by 2030. The workforce is shrinking.
The Retention Crisis
Construction brings in 200,000 new workers each year. But 210,000 leave annually.
Why do they leave? Poor pay compared to other trades, dangerous working conditions, and limited career progression. Many young workers quit within their first year.
This creates a compound problem. We’re already 140,000 workers short. Losing 10,000 net annually means we’ll be 190,000 short by 2030 – even before accounting for new housing targets.
The Funding Gap
The government pledged £600 million to train 60,000 construction workers by 2029. The actual need is 240,000 workers over five years.
That’s a 4:1 gap between promise and reality.
London and the South East have the worst shortages, exactly where housing demand is highest. Even with unlimited funding, skilled trades take 2-4 years to train properly.
Real Examples
Take heat pumps. The government wants 600,000 installations annually by 2028. We need to train over 30,000 installers. Current training programs are nowhere near this scale.
Electrical work, plumbing, insulation, renewable systems – all need specialized skills that take years to learn.
New construction methods help. Offsite manufacturing needs fewer workers. But we still need far more people than we’re training.
What Actually Needs to Happen
First, fix the retention problem. Raise wages, improve safety standards, and create clear career paths. Other countries like Germany have done this successfully.
Second, fast-track training programs. Traditional training programs are too slow – we need faster, modular approaches for specific skills.
Third, be honest about timelines. If we start today, we might have adequate workforce by 2035, not 2030.
Meanwhile, 160,000 children remain in temporary housing. Every month of delay means more families stuck in unsuitable accommodation.
The government can keep promising 1.5 million homes by 2030, but the workers to build them simply don’t exist. The choice is clear: invest seriously in workforce development now, or watch housing targets become political theater.