FBM & Randstad on Skilled Labour Shortages in Construction

Construction firms on both sides of the Atlantic are running short of the people needed to build.

In the US, the industry needs roughly 349,000 net new workers in 2026 alone, according to Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), while the UK's Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) puts the annual shortfall at 41,200 workers to 2030.

The gap is no longer a future risk; it is already reshaping how projects are scheduled, staffed and delivered.

Industry leaders say the strain is now visible in crew rotations, project timelines and the wellbeing of the workers left holding the gap.

A widening skills gap

The scale of the shortage is difficult to overstate. The Associated General Contractors of America found that 92% of construction firms are struggling to hire qualified hourly craft workers.

Meanwhile, ABC estimates the sector will need 456,000 additional workers in 2027, rising to around 1.9 million over the next decade. 

Much of that demand stems from an ageing workforce. The average US construction worker is now 42.5-years-old, says the US’ National Association of Home Builders. 

ABC has found that only 16% of the workforce is under 35, and the National Center for Construction Education & Research shows that over 40% of today's workers are expected to retire within 10 years.

Immigration policy has added further pressure. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports immigrants make up 34% of the US construction workforce.

This figure exceeds 60% in drywall, roofing and plastering.

A joint survey by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) and the National Center for Construction Education and Research found 28% of firms had faced workforce disruption linked to immigration enforcement in the past six months.

The picture is similarly stark in the UK. CITB's Construction Workforce Outlook 2026-2030 estimates the sector needs an average of 41,200 additional workers every year to keep pace with demand.

This is the equivalent of more than 206,000 in total by the end of the decade. 

The industry currently recruits around 200,000 people a year but loses roughly 210,000 over the same period, largely to retirement, leaving the workforce on a shrinking trajectory.

Around 40% of UK construction workers are already over 45, and carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, scaffolders and roofers are consistently named the hardest roles to fill.

CITB has committed £267m (US$362) to training and apprenticeships, though the effects of that spending will take years to reach site level.

Joe Saad, Regional Vice President of Foundation Building Materials (FBM) Pacific South Region, sees the impact play out on live projects.

“Labour shortages continue to be one of the biggest challenges affecting construction timelines across the US right now,” he says. 

“Even when materials are available and projects are funded, finding enough skilled tradespeople to keep work moving can be difficult. As a result, we are seeing some projects take longer to complete, while contractors often need to adjust schedules and sequence work differently to accommodate workforce availability. 

“In fast-growing markets especially, completion of skilled labour can create bottlenecks that impact everything from project planning through to final delivery. In some cases, contractors are having to stagger work, reallocate crews between projects or delay the start of certain activities until the right expertise becomes available. This creates additional complexity for teams and can make scheduling hard to predict.”

Scheduling and sequencing pressure

Vicky Bartlett, Senior Director, Market Leadership for Construction, Property & Engineering at human resources consultancy and recruitment firm Randstad UK, sees the same dynamic constraining project teams in Britain.

“Skilled labour shortages are making workforce planning increasingly complex for construction businesses,” she says. 

“When there is less experienced talent available, project teams have less room to manoeuvre when schedules change, deadlines move, or additional resource is needed at short notice. That can quickly have a knock-on effect across a project, particularly where specialist skills are required at a specific stage.”

That loss of flexibility shows up in delayed handovers and re-sequenced trades on site.

Where a project once had several qualified electricians or bricklayers to draw on, schedulers are now often working with one crew that must be shared, delayed or substituted, and any late change ripples through every phase that follows. 

In fast-growing US regions, that bottleneck can affect everything from planning through to final delivery, forcing contractors to stagger work or push back activities until the right expertise is available. 

In the UK, where net zero retrofit and housing targets add further demand on top of existing infrastructure work, the same specialist trades are pulled between competing projects, intensifying the squeeze in the markets CITB says need growth most.

Strain on existing teams

Workforce shortages not only affect timelines; they change what is being asked of the people already on payroll.

“When labour is in short supply, existing teams are often asked to take on additional responsibilities, work longer hours, or manage multiple projects simultaneously,” Joe explains.

“Although construction professionals are incredibly resilient, sustained workforce shortages can place significant pressure on employees and business operations. 

“Beyond productivity concerns, companies also need to think about employee wellbeing, retention and preventing burnout. Experienced workers are often spending more time mentoring newer team members while still maintaining project deadlines, which can stretch resources even further. Maintaining a skilled and engaged workforce becomes even more important when experienced talent is in high demand across the industry.”

Vicky makes a similar point from the UK recruitment perspective, warning that shortages can quickly become self-reinforcing.

“The challenge is that shortages can also put additional pressure on the people already in the workforce,” she says. 

“Randstad's latest Employer Brand Research shows that 35% of construction talent who leave an employer cite improving their work-life balance as one of their top reasons for moving on, while 33% point to compensation. This underlines why employers need to be cautious about continually asking existing teams to absorb gaps in resourcing. In the short term that may keep a project moving, but over time it can create further retention pressures and make skills shortages even harder to manage.”

Building flexibility into planning

Both Joe and Vicky point to workforce planning, not just recruitment, as the more durable fix.

Joe argues businesses need strategies that work on two timelines at once. “Addressing labour shortages requires both short-term and long-term strategies,” he says.

“Businesses should look to invest in workforce development through apprenticeships, training programmes and partnerships with trade schools to help build future talent pipelines. 

“Cross-training employees can also create greater operational flexibility, allowing teams to adapt when labour availability changes. Just as importantly, companies need to focus on attracting and retaining skilled workers to create clear career development opportunities and foster workplace cultures where employees feel valued. Organisations that take a proactive approach to workforce planning will be better positioned to navigate labour challenges and support future growth.”

This matches the direction of federal policy in the US, where the Department of Labour has committed US$145m to expand registered apprenticeships, with construction a priority sector, alongside roughly 290,000 people already enrolled nationally. 

In the UK, CITB's £267m (US$362m) commitment sits alongside calls for closer alignment between training providers and the trades genuinely short of workers.

They come as misaligned provision has left some regional gaps, particularly in bricklaying and electrical work, largely untouched.

Resourcing gaps and retention

Vicky's central argument is that workforce planning and project planning need to happen together, not in sequence.

“There is a clear opportunity for employers to build greater resilience by looking at workforce planning alongside project planning,” she says. 

“Construction workers place a high value on long-term job security, cited by 74% when rating their current employer. Giving people greater visibility and confidence around future opportunities, while building a clearer picture of the skills needed across the project pipeline, can help employers strengthen retention and reduce the risk of resourcing gaps further down the line.”

She frames the shortage less as a single crisis to be solved and more as a condition contractors will need to manage on an ongoing basis.

“Ultimately, the organisations best placed to manage labour shortages will be those that plan for flexibility in advance,”Vicky says. 

“That means anticipating where skills gaps are likely to emerge, investing in training and upskilling, developing stronger talent pools and using the right mix of permanent, temporary and contract talent to meet changing project needs. Aligning those workforce decisions more closely with long-term project planning can give businesses greater resilience when schedules or resource requirements change.”

That blended approach – permanent staff, cross-trained internal teams and flexible contract labour, underpinned by longer apprenticeship pipelines – is emerging as the closest thing the industry has to a shared playbook on both sides of the Atlantic.

Businesses pairing workforce planning with project planning, investing early in training pipelines and protecting existing teams from burnout will be better placed to keep schedules on track. 

Those that treat resourcing as an afterthought risk longer delays, higher costs and the loss of talent.