The Government will publish a Construction Jobs Plan later in 2026 setting out a wider package of measures to address workforce shortages across the UK construction industry. The timing matters. CITB's latest Construction Workforce Outlook estimates that construction will need an average of 41,200 additional workers every year between 2026 and 2030 (around 206,000 over five years) to support forecast activity and replace people leaving the industry.
Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed the forthcoming plan during evidence to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee on 1 September. He said: We are going to publish a construction jobs plan later this year.
A live construction site in London, where workforce availability and skilled trades remain critical to project delivery. Original Photo: London Construction Magazine.
What has actually been announced?
The Construction Jobs Plan itself has not yet been published. The September statement confirms the publication timetable and indicates that the document will bring together government support and industry action aimed at shortages, recruitment and retention. That distinction is important. Details circulating ahead of publication should not be treated as final Jobs Plan commitments until the Government releases the document. What is already confirmed is the existing £625 million Construction Skills Package and a series of training measures already moving into delivery.
Pennycook told the committee that the package includes £100 million for Skills Bootcamps, £98 million for industry placements, £100 million for 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges, a £90 million uplift for 16-to-19 construction courses and £75 million for adult retraining. The Government says the overall £625 million package is expected to support up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers over this Parliament. That intervention sits against the wider workforce pressure examined in London Construction Magazine's assessment of the construction trades facing the greatest skills shortages in 2026.
Why 60,000 workers does not close a 206,000 requirement
The two headline figures measure different things and should not be compared as though one simply fills the other. CITB's 206,000 figure is a five-year estimate of additional workforce requirement. It includes labour needed to support construction growth as well as people required to replace workers retiring, changing careers or otherwise leaving the industry. It is not a count of 206,000 current vacancies.
The Government's figure of up to 60,000 relates to the expected contribution from its Construction Skills Package over the Parliament. It covers expanded training capacity, apprenticeships, placements and other routes into skilled work. The figures therefore have different definitions, timeframes and purposes. Some delivery mechanisms are already being tested. CITB's Accelerated Apprenticeships programme, for example, is intended to support 1,680 apprenticeship starts over four years, with selected routes in trades including bricklaying, carpentry and roofing shortened to around 14 to 18 months.
The workforce requirement sits behind the project pipeline
The Government has linked the Jobs Plan directly to its housing and infrastructure ambitions. A July parliamentary answer said the construction workforce will be needed to support the National Infrastructure Pipeline, which projects £725 billion of investment over the next decade, alongside the ambition to deliver 1.5 million new homes.
The £725 billion figure should not be read as a construction contract award or guaranteed contractor spend. It is a long-term infrastructure pipeline figure. Projects within that programme will move through funding, planning, procurement, contract award and construction at different times.
CITB expects UK construction output to remain subdued during 2026 before strengthening from 2027. Its forecast shows average annual growth of 3.6% in public new housing, 2.5% in private new housing and 2.5% in infrastructure between 2026 and 2030. That creates a potential timing problem: training capacity has to grow before workloads accelerate, not after contractors are already competing for the same skilled people.
LCM analysis: training places are only the first step
For contractors, the important measure will be how many learners ultimately become competent workers available to live projects. Course starts and college places increase the entry pipeline, but construction also needs employers able to provide site experience, supervision and sustained employment.
This is particularly relevant for occupations where an inexperienced entrant cannot immediately replace an experienced worker. Supervisors, project managers, engineers and specialist trades are also needed to train and oversee the next generation. Building safety, retrofit, MEP, infrastructure and technically complex projects increasingly require demonstrable competence rather than headcount alone.
Physical training capacity is expanding alongside government programmes. Construction has already started on the NHBC apprenticeship training hub at Barking Riverside, part of a £100 million national programme of 12 hubs, with the London facility planned to train around 200 apprentices each year.
What happens next?
The next meaningful step is publication of the Construction Jobs Plan later in 2026. That document should show how the Government intends to connect existing funding, colleges, apprenticeships, employer placements and industry commitments with the occupations and regions where demand is expected to be greatest.
Until then, the confirmed position is narrower but significant: £625 million of construction skills investment is already in place, the Government expects it to support up to 60,000 skilled workers, and CITB estimates the wider industry needs around 206,000 additional workers over the five years to 2030.
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Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
