Foreign construction workers set to be brought in to fill labour shortages

Government officials have conceded that solving inactivity in the country’s workforce may not be enough to tackle the number of job vacancies in Britain and changes to immigration will also be required, the Financial Times reported.

Sources told the paper the construction will be one of the first identified as a key sector on the Government’s “shortage occupation list” with the migration advisory committee (MAC) recommending bricklayers, carpenters and plasterers for inclusion.

The Home Builders Federation said: “If we are to increase housing supply and deliver the government’s housing target it is essential we have continued access to skilled labour from abroad.”

The move, which will have to be approved by the Home Secretary could come as early as this month.

The changes would mean that there would be a reduced requirement of salary, dropping from £25,600 to £25,600, or at 80 per cent of the usual rate for the occupation, in addition to more flexible visa requirements.

The list of occupations on the shortage list includes care workers, vets, civil engineers and graphic designers.

There are doubts that hospitality, which has suffered serious losses in terms of staffing since the pandemic, will be added to the list immediately.

Kate Nicholls, UKHospitality chief executive, said: “The inescapable conclusion is there aren’t enough people active in the economy to be able to fill all the roles that we need”.

A government spokesperson said: “We work closely with the MAC to ensure our points-based system delivers for the UK and works in the best interests of the economy, by prioritising the skills and talent we need and encouraging long-term investment in the domestic workforce.”

It comes as NHS staff said that the standard of patient care in the health service has fallen, with more workers now unhappy and wanting to leave their jobs.

The NHS Staff Survey for England, which is one of the largest workforce surveys in the world, received responses from 636,348 staff through data-gathering at the end of 2022.

The results showed that more staff are feeling under pressure, do not feel they have enough time to do their job properly and are worried about standards of patient care.

Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, part of the NHS Confederation, said: “It is no surprise given that we have now witnessed several months of industrial action by NHS staff that those same staff, who have worked through extraordinary challenges over the past few years, have expressed their feelings of deep frustration in these responses.

“It is of course concerning to see that 17 per cent of staff considering leaving for another job will do so as soon as they find one and that, despite the continuing efforts of health leaders to recruit and retain employees, the numbers of those willing to recommend the NHS as an employer has also dropped. This is reinforced by the responses to staff satisfaction on pay.

“We must not shy away from the fact that so many of our people tell us and the Government that they cannot work to the best of their abilities.

“With 124,000 vacant posts, including over 40,000 vacancies in nursing, it is also not unexpected that there has also been a fall in the number of staff who say there are enough of them to do their jobs properly.”