Living sector skills in focus: where next? 

The construction skills gap was one of the hot topics at recent housing conferences including UK’s Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) and Housing 2026. 

And the subject came up repeatedly at the event’s Future Homes Pavilion at UKREiiF – a space created by NHBC, the Future Homes Hub, Homes England and Barclays for leaders from across the industry to share the latest ideas. 

In fact, skills was the sole focus of one session in which NHBC Director of Business Change Roger Morton was joined by directors from the Home Builders Federation, Cast Consultancy and the Barking Riverside development, as well as Niki Kyriacou from NHBC’s Build-to-Rent team. 

So what was on the agenda, and how can we ensure we have the talent and capacity needed to build more sustainable homes? 

The challenge is clear 

There’s no denying that the ageing UK construction workforce is causing a headache for developers, with more than a third of existing skilled professionals set to retire by 2035. 

But it’s not just a case of struggling to find the skilled professionals needed to build new homes across the country.  

Some experts believe the supply and demand imbalance of talent means construction workers’ wages will rise. 

That’s no bad thing, of course.  

But when combined with soaring material costs, the increasing pressure on developers could risk more potential projects being scrapped.  

And even as some make greater use of modern methods of construction to take advantage of lower materials prices, reduced carbon footprints and shorter build times, these technologies still require the labour of experienced experts. 

Timber to the rescue? 

While only 13% of new homes in England use timber frame – a far cry from the 92% in Scotland recorded in the 2019 Housing Market Intelligence Report we produced with Housebuilder and the Home Builders Federation – it’s a construction method on the rise, with seven of the top 15 UK house builders expected to self-supply their own timber frame homes by mid-2026. 

Their benefits span everything from the renewability of wood, the reduced waste of off-site prefabrication, great thermal properties and flexibility for more customisation in design. 

From an environmental perspective, modern methods of construction can also outperform traditional masonry builds by as much as five tonnes of CO₂ per dwelling. 

Yet for the industry to continue adopting timber frame housing, it must develop more workers with the specialist knowhow needed to build homes at scale, oversee projects  

To help address the growing interest, NHBC has launched a specific training course for existing site managers, contracts managers and quality controllers who want to gain timber frame expertise and learn how to reduce defects. 

And in collaboration with the Structural Timber Association, NHBC has created a Level 2 Timber Frame Installer apprenticeship for new entrants to construction keen to achieve a recognised qualification at our purpose-built training hubs.   

Everybody’s opportunity  

Of course, solving the wider skills gap is a task that will involve many more interventions, not to mention extensive collaboration across the public and private sectors.  

To encourage more employers to recruit young career starters, the Government recently launched the Apprenticeship Incentive, which will soon pay SMEs £2,000 for each hired apprentice aged 16 to 24. 

Meanwhile, guests at the Future Homes Pavilion heard how the HBF’s regularly updated Sector Skills Plan is shaping industry-wide efforts to attract, retain and train the workforce.  

A key pillar is the Plan’s support of NHBC’s training hubs, where apprentices can learn in site-like conditions and complete their built-for-builders programme faster than through traditional routes. 

Sarah McCready, Director of Social Infrastructure and Communications at Barking Riverside, a major mixed-use development on brownfield land in East London, also explored the role developers can play; her employer’s site has played host to bricklaying training sessions for would-be construction newcomers. 

More to be done 

Existing campaigns to boost the skills of existing workers and attract the next generation are just the start.  

One thing the Future Homes Pavilion panellists all agreed on was that further investment and dedication is necessary to provide a pipeline for the long term. 

Indeed, Mark Farmer from Cast Consultancy argued that the slower pace in the current climate provides builders and developers with a unique opportunity to provide their teams with training that will raise their productivity and efficiency for when project demand recovers.  

With skills, sustainability and delivery perhaps more interconnected than ever, there’s no shortage of desire to address today’s challenges and revitalise tomorrow’s new housing market.