It is no secret Britain is going through a skill shortage- falling short by 225k tradespeople to keep up with current demand, and a ‘serious gender imbalance’.

The UK construction industry is on track to lose almost £100bn of economic growth by 2030 as a result of a shrinking pool of skilled tradespeople.

An estimated recruitment of 45k workers per year is needed to meet government demands by 2027.

While data from the Office of National Statistics reveals only 15% of the workforce is currently made up of women, it has prompted industry voices to discuss whether more women in the trades could solve the growing shortage.

Clive Holland, broader of Fix Radio says: “The UK construction sector is facing a huge skills deficit – experienced tradespeople left the sector in droves during the pandemic and efforts to recruit young people into the trades are failing.

“According to government figures the number of young people entering apprenticeships has fallen by nearly 10% in the last year and the Construction Products Association estimated that over 220,000 workers have left the industry since the summer of 2019.”

The demand for tradespeople is set to increase as a result of the government targets on housing and achieving net-zero.

With shortages already impacting the country, a recent survey revealed that 19% of participants had to cancel or postpone projects in the last five years due to a lack of suitable tradespeople.

Current figures suggest that doubling the number of women in the industry could boost annual growth by over £800m, but without action, the current projected shortages could cost the nation up to £12bn annually in missed economic growth by 2030.

With all this taken into consideration, it seems as though the question is not: ‘Could more women in construction fix the nation’s skill shortage?’ It’s: ‘How can the construction sector appeal to more women?’