Latest news with #skillsShortage
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hadrian Raises $260 Million on ‘Factories As a Service'
Defense tech startup Hadrian has raised a $260 million Series C funding round led by Founders Fund. Hadrian CEO Chris Power joins Ed Ludlow on 'Bloomberg Tech' to discuss how the company's tech addresses a manufacturing skills shortage in the US. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Warning issued to government over building 1.5 million homes pledge
The Government 's ambitious pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029 is in jeopardy due to a critical shortage of skilled workers, new research has revealed. A survey conducted by skills development organisation City & Guilds found that a staggering 76 per cent of construction firms are struggling to recruit the skilled personnel they need. An overwhelming 84 per cent of those surveyed agreed that the industry is grappling with critical skills shortages. This deficit is starkly highlighted by the Construction Industry Training Board's latest outlook, which estimates the sector requires an additional 239,300 workers by 2029 to meet the projected demand for the housing target. More than half of employers, 54 per cent, express significant doubts about the sector's current workforce capacity to achieve this goal. The same percentage also putting into doubt the sector's ability to deliver net zero housing goals. Kirstie Donnelly, chief executive of City & Guilds, said: 'We can't build 1.5 million homes without the people to deliver it. 'We urgently need to reset how we attract, train, and upskill talent across the construction sector, with flexible routes, smarter investment, and collaboration between industry, education and Government. 'With the Government signalling a clear intention to reduce reliance on overseas workers, investing in and nurturing skills isn't optional – it's critical.' Jambu Palaniappan, chief executive at Checkatrade, said: 'The vision of modern, energy-efficient homes that are fit for 21st-century Britain will remain out of reach unless we tackle the critical trade skills gap head-on. 'Government is taking some important steps to address the problem and industry needs to play its part too. 'Checkatrade is piloting initiatives across the country, from boosting construction apprenticeships through to helping existing trades build new skills as more consumers look to make their homes greener and cheaper to run.'
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Business Council of Australia calls for employer incentives to hire more tradie apprentices
A leading business industry group has called for a critical $40m fund for large businesses to boost apprenticeship programs to avoid oncoming skills shortages in key sectors like clean energy and construction. Australia has a deadline to acquire 32,000 electricians by 2030, before that figure skyrockets to 85,000 in 2050 as it seeks to transition to a renewable-powered grid. As it stands, Jobs and Skills Australia estimates a 27 per cent shortfall in the 25 years to 2050. In the lead up to the federal election, due by May 17, the Business Council of Australia called for a redesign of the Australian Apprenticeships Incentive System (AAIS) to prepare small, medium and large businesses to train more apprentices and fill the critical workforce gaps. Their policy wishlist includes a baseline support package for employers of up to $4000 per apprentice for the first two years of an apprenticeship, and up to $3000 per apprentice for the final years. They've also called for additional incentives of up to double the base funding for small and medium sized businesses which can demonstrate high completion rates and a diversity of applicants. Additionally, large businesses would have access to a fund cost at $40m over four years in order to expand their existing support programs. While the incentives would apply to all industries, BCA chief executive noted that skills shortages were exacerbated across the clean energy and construction sectors, however skills shortages are more broadly reported in a third of occupations. The request follows Anthony Albanese's election pitch to give apprentice plumbers, carpenters, electricians and other fields related to housing construction a $10,000 incentive to finish their courses and boost housing completion numbers. However Mr Bran said more investment was needed to aid employers, with programs at large enterprises boasting completion rates of 90 per cent, compared to the national average of 50 per cent. 'Businesses tell me that existing employer incentives don't reflect the true cost of training an apprentice, and that means we need a new approach to ensure businesses are supported to train more people,' Mr Black said. 'Businesses play vital roles in training the next generation of skilled workers, and if employer incentives aren't increased in amount and scope, we'll see fewer employment opportunities offered, which will ultimately exacerbate our nationwide skills gaps.' NSW-based Endeavour Energy chief executive Guy Chalkley said Australia was essentially playing 'catch up' in ensuring our workforce is equipped to handle Australia's green energy transition. The company, which provides energy to parts of Greater Western Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands and the Illawarra, trains 25 apprentices a year through their purpose-built Technical Training Centre, with members aged between 16 to 38. As it stands, Mr Chalkley said he didn't believe Australia was on track to have 80,000 electricians working across Australia. 'What's coming in a decade's time needs to be done today,' he said. 'The whole industry, and the whole world is doing that, and you're chasing the same resource at the moment because we're all going through the same energy transition. 'Part of the challenge is making sure that the infrastructure sitting behind it – TAFE, and the actual spaces and lecturers to actually accommodate the uptake.' Mr Chalkley said the extra funding would allow large businesses to better support their apprentices, while also helping companies attract more school leavers and seek overseas electricians to fill in the gaps. 'Trying to attract a 16-year-old into the industry is very hard in Sydney, from an affordability point of view,' he said. 'Similarly, if you've got a young family and you're doing a career change, you're probably going down in your earning capacity. 'So you've got to support how you're re-skilling people to make sure they do stick in the industry, so they have something that's hopefully better than what they've got at the moment, and makes them more relevant for the future.' It's understood the government will consider the BCA's proposals as part of a wider strategic review of the apprenticeships incentive system, however the program has been costed to be up to $6.5bn. Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles said Labor were committed to 'fixing the worst skills shortage in half a century,' pointing to mismanagement by the former Coalition government. 'That's why Labor is making Free TAFE permanent, and it's why we'll pay housing construction apprentices $10,000 to get on the tools,' he said. Deputy Liberal Leader and the Coalition's spokeswoman for industry, skills and training flagged further announcements from the Coalition, she said businesses no longer had the confidence to hire apprenticeships. 'If a business does not know if they are going to survive another week or another month, how can we expect them to have confidence to put on an apprentice for two to three years,' she said.
Irish Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
‘Without people to build homes, it won't happen': Construction workers decry shortage of tradespeople
The 120-year-old Co-operative Society in Templecrone, Co Donegal , has a pile of construction materials gathering dust in its warehouse. Mark Sharkey, chief executive of the Co-operative, says numerous orders are on ice while contractors search for workers to complete the construction of local houses and offices. 'I think we have a dozen rooves ready to go but there's no tradesmen available to put them up,' says Sharkey. 'There's no roofers, no plasterers, no block layers. Talking to other businesses, there's real frustration because it's holding back the industry.' The lack of tradespeople in the construction market should be 'declared a national emergency, because it is a national emergency', Sharkey says. 'We're apolitical but there needs to be some leadership shown here.' Kevin McHugh, senior project manager of the CCP limited construction company in Donegal, says Irish construction workers under the age of 30 have become 'a rare breed'. READ MORE 'The skills shortage dates back to the bank collapse in 2008 – careers offices stopped apprenticeships, which discouraged people from going into construction,' says McHugh. 'The colleges are now flooded with apprenticeships but it's going to be years before these people are available, it's too little too late. There's no one there under 30. I have one guy and he's the youngest at 42 – the boys joke he has a spring in his step.' Sharkey and McHugh are two of a growing number of Irish construction business owners struggling to find tradespeople to complete housing and retrofitting projects. A recent report from the ODI international think tank, into how immigration policy can help solve workforce challenges, warned that the State was facing an 'immense challenge' in meeting national retrofitting and housing targets. This is because of the 'substantial' lack of plumbers, electricians, carpenters and insulation operatives. Between 30,000 to 60,000 tradespeople are needed to meet the Government's target of retrofitting 500,000 homes and installing 400,000 heat pumps in existing homes by the end of 2030, according to the report which was published last year. To meet these objectives, Ireland must attract more non-European workers to come here, it advises. Migrant workers are now 'driving increases' in the Irish construction workforce and 'all evidence points to a future increasing reliance on migrant construction workers from non-EU countries', says the report. Brazilians are gaining access to the construction sector through student visas, while some firms go directly to direct provision centres to recruit international protection applicants, it adds. There is also 'anecdotal evidence' that Georgian asylum seekers are taking up working on construction sites soon after they arrive in Ireland. The report acknowledges most workers from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) are now eligible to apply to come to Ireland through the general employment permit, but warns smaller Irish firms, which 'dominate' the construction sector, struggle to use this system 'given their low administrative capacity'. The Government should put all construction occupations on its critical skills visa list to attract non-European workers to Ireland, or create an enhanced general employment permit so workers can bring immediate family here without delay, the report recommends. At present, non-EEA tradespeople who come to Ireland through this permit must wait a year before bringing family. Martin Markey, chief executive of Hardware Association Ireland (HAI), which represents those selling building materials, echoed this call last October when he wrote to the Minister for Enterprise requesting the addition of 'plumbers, carpenters/joiners, electricians, tilers and brick/block layers' to the Government's critical skills occupations list. Over 90 per cent of our members say building projects are being postponed or abandoned due to a shortage of tradespeople — Martin Markey 'Our marketplace is flat – the first six months of this year shows 0 per cent growth compared to 2023,' wrote Markey in a letter released to The Irish Times under a Freedom of Information request. 'We all know that there is a huge level of pent-up demand for housing... these homes can only be built when we have people with the requisite skills to build them. We need to encourage trained people from abroad to help us build the country.' Speaking with The Irish Times, Markey agrees that small businesses struggle to navigate the general permit system for hiring staff from abroad. He said: 'Even if you do find someone from Georgia to work on a site, you then have to find them a home. And there's no homes. 'Over 90 per cent of our members say building projects are being postponed or abandoned due to a shortage of tradespeople. Without a core of tradespeople, who's going to build the houses? There's no standing army of unemployed plumbers or carpenters. You can have all the targets you like but without people to build homes, it won't happen.' Data from the Department of Further and Higher Education shows the registration of apprentice plumbers remains 'well below' what is needed to meet housing and retrofitting targets. Some 792 plumbing, heating and ventilation engineers registered for apprenticeship programmes in 2022, far below the 1,342 required to meet demand. Current numbers are 'broadly sufficient' to meet the requirements of 'either the house-building subsector or the home retrofitting subsector, but not both', according to the department's forecast of skills analysis from October, 2024 . It also warned of 'very few plumbers being attracted to Ireland under the work permit schemes'. Claire Kumar, senior research fellow with the ODI think tank, and co-author of last year's report, says the Government's visa permit system is too focused on highly-skilled degree holders and 'does not recognise the critical technical skills' of construction workers. 'The statement we've heard most often is 'we must maintain the integrity of the immigration system',' says Kumar. 'It's polite code for reinforcing a classist immigration system.' I don't think it's correct to say we don't have visa pathways — Ángel Bello-Cortés After the 2004 EU expansion, Ireland's construction industry had 'workers on tap with labour mobility', she says. 'Everything has shifted now.' 'Making your visa more attractive does make attracting talent easier. These are mid-skilled professionals, not young men happy to travel alone. They want to bring their families here.' A spokesman for the Department of Justice said the critical skills list 'reflects specific roles deemed to be critically important to the economy and in significant shortage of supply in the labour market'. The department's policy document for non-EEA family reunification is currently under review, he added. Ángel Bello-Cortés, a partner with Fragomen, who specialises in immigration matters, says Ireland's work permit system is 'internationally respected'. However, he acknowledges the creation of a 'sector-specific work permit' would help bring more tradespeople here. 'I don't think it's correct to say we don't have visa pathways, but is the construction industry sufficiently engaging with the existing pathways?' [ Ireland's housing perma-crisis returns to centre of political agenda Opens in new window ] [ Housebuilding in Dublin to stall within three years if wastewater plant not delivered Opens in new window ] A Department of Enterprise spokesman said 'almost all construction sector roles' were now eligible for general employment permits but that the recruitment of skilled non-EEA labour was a 'short-term measure to meet labour market needs'. Paul Sheridan, a director with the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), disputes claims that Ireland does not have the workforce to meet housing targets but says retrofitting should be 'dealt with separate to the delivery of critical infrastructure like housing'. Residential production increased by 94 per cent between 2011 and 2021, and housing completion rose by 570 per cent between 2012 and 2023, says Sheridan. The number of people required to work on sites has dropped 35 per cent with the modernisation of equipment, he says. 'I'm not saying we don't need to attract new talent into the country but we're saying we can deliver, we can scale up and meet the needs of Government and the private sector.'
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘Things could fall over': businesses and public services on Starmer's immigration crackdown
Keir Starmer's blueprint for curbing immigration could exacerbate skills shortages in sectors that would 'fall over' without immigrant labour, the prime minister has been told. Starmer said that businesses in particular had become 'almost addicted to importing cheap labour' rather than investing in UK talent. Trade bodies and businesses retorted on Monday by saying that new restrictions could only work if accompanied by urgent measures to help businesses recruit and train UK residents. Here's how sectors that rely heavily on overseas workers have reacted to Starmer's planned crackdown. The social care sector voiced the greatest concern at Labour's policy shift. 'Thousands of older and disabled people rely on international workers for their care and support, who often take on positions which care companies struggle to fill,' said Jess McGregor, president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass). 'Cutting off this source of new workers without a plan about how to replace them domestically will worry many older and disabled people, their families and employers. Almost a third of direct care workers in the UK are non-British, according to the Skills for Care charity. The Unison trade union said it was 'only the recruitment of workers from overseas that's stopped the system from falling over'. The sector is still 'many thousands of workers short', said the Unison head of social care, Gavin Edwards. Both Unison and Adass called for drastic measures to recruit more people to the sector to compensate for curbs on immigration. McGregor said: 'A shortage of care workers leads to a triple whammy of more reliance on agency staff, who the person drawing on care won't know and who the provider will need to pay much more for.' She said the shortage also led to 'more people – especially women – giving up paid work to care for their loved ones, and many people potentially missing out on care altogether'. Non-UK citizens make up less than 15% of the hospitality workforce, compared with about 25% pre-Covid, according to the chief executive of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls. Much of the decline is down to the introduction by the previous government of higher salary thresholds for skilled worker visas. Nicholls said any further tightening of the labour market could have unwanted knock-on effects on an industry that already has 84,000 vacancies. 'We understand the need to get immigration under control. But there's an inescapable conclusion that the labour market remains very tight,' Nicholls added. Nicholls called on the government to bring forward an employment and skills strategy to further drive domestic recruitment, including reform of the apprenticeship levy. She said this would help offset £3bn in added labour costs the industry is facing, partly to Rachel Reeves's increase in employers' national insurance contributions. The pubs trade fears curbing immigration will make it more challenging to recruit those higher-paid staff who meet skilled visa salary thresholds, such as head chefs. Emma McClarkin, the chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, echoed Nicholls' calls for greater flexibility in how companies use funds from the apprenticeship levy. She also called for a broader easing of the regulatory burden, to 'unshackle the sector so we can help employers and workers and the UK live up to its true potential'. There is no mention of doctors or nurses – the two largest professions in the NHS – in the white paper and it is unclear what impact the proposals will have on health staff coming from overseas. But while ministers are not proposing a ban on recruiting foreign health workers such as in social care, NHS leaders are still concerned. Danny Mortimer, the chief executive of NHS Employers, urged 'caution and patience' before any changes to the wider immigration system to ensure hospitals and GP surgeries were not suddenly hit. 'The international workforce has been an essential component of the NHS throughout its history, and our colleagues from around the globe are hugely valued by their colleagues and patients,' Mortimer added. The government's upcoming 10-year health plan, expected in July, and a refresh of the NHS workforce plan must guarantee a 'stable, safe and sustainable' recruitment strategy, Mortimer added. Brexit has left the NHS increasingly dependent on doctors and nurses from poor 'red list' countries, from which the World Health Organization says it is wrong to recruit. Tens of thousands of health staff have been hired from countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe since the UK left the EU single market at the end of 2020. Prof Nicola Ranger, the general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said nursing in the UK had 'truly global roots' and criticised the plans to reduce immigration as 'pandering and scapegoating'. She used her keynote speech at the union's annual congress in Liverpool on Monday to stress that staff from overseas were 'more than welcome in the United Kingdom'. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Plans for a levy on income generated from international students will be ringing alarm bells in many universities. The aim is to 'reinvest' in higher education and skills, potentially getting better-off institutions to support those with fewer resources, but the proposal will be controversial among many vice-chancellors who will see it as punishment for success. As the value of domestic tuition fees has fallen, universities have become dependent on the significantly higher fees of international students who accounted for 51% of all postgraduate students in 2023/4 and 14% of undergraduates. Just under 70% of students at the London School of Economics and Political Science come from overseas, at University College London it is about 48%, while at Coventry it is 42%. But numbers have been falling, putting pressure on university budgets. Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of Universities UK which represents the sector, urged the government to think carefully about the impact a levy on international student fees would have on universities and the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination. Plans to reduce the amount of time overseas graduates can remain in the UK on the graduate route visa from two years to 18 months, could further deter international students who may look elsewhere in the world for better work/study opportunities. Bricklayers, roofers, stonemasons, plumbers and carpenters are among the occupations that can qualify for skilled worker visas – suggesting the UK government still considers construction as one area that needs labour from abroad. Rico Wojtulewicz, the head of policy at the National Federation of Builders, which represents small to mid-sized companies, said that the sector does not want to rely on foreign labour, but that it was tricky to find the right skills. 'We don't have enough of it in the UK so we have to go to other countries to find it,' he said. Given the three to five years needed to train people up, 'we will still need a good level of immigration,' he added. 'The changes are going to be causing us an issue.' A spokesperson for the Construction Industry Training Board said that it wanted 'an evidence-led migration policy that better links to domestic skills and labour market policies', including growing the domestic construction workforce. Yet the training body also pointed out that the number of migrant workers in construction fell to 9.8% in 2021, the last available figures, down from 10.7% in 2018 – although that was partly because of Covid-19. Manufacturers expressed concern that limits on immigration won't be accompanied by help for training for British workers. Stephen Phipson, the chief executive of Make UK, a lobby group, said there was a 'skills crisis'. 'What is now essential is that the government recognises that manufacturers only seek overseas staff because the domestic skills training system is fundamentally flawed,' Phipson said. He called for a plan for technical skills training, and reforms of the apprenticeship levy that big companies must pay.
