A coalition of professional bodies including the CIOB has warned Brexit minister David Davis that the UK’s construction skills crisis could severely worsen if the government does not take steps to ensure access to a skilled workforce during its post-referendum negotiations.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) are signatories to the letter to the secretary of state for exiting the European Union.
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As well as skills they outline five other priorities that the UK government should focus on in light of the UK’s Brexit vote.
The six priorities are: access to skills, commons standards, research excellence, infrastructure investment and devolution commitment and community development.
On skills the letter points out that the free movement of labour within the EU has been vital to the growth and flexibility of the construction sector. “We therefore urge the government to explore options and approaches to ensure that this access is not impeded to the detriment of the built environment.”
In terms of standards the group of four said that access to markets in the EU and around the world has transformed the UK construction sector.
“The mutual recognition of qualifications and the development of common technical standards have reduced the barriers our members face working abroad. Reducing tariffs and harmonising standards have helped UK firms of all sizes expand to Europe and beyond.
“These common approaches have also meant that UK businesses can support best practice in environmental and product standards, supporting efforts on global issues such as climate change.”
Paul Nash, President of the CIOB said: “It’s essential that the voice of the built environment professional is heard clearly in any Brexit discussions with Government. Globally, construction has always relied on migration to fill gaps in the labour market, so we need to have a sensible policy on migration that meets the needs both of the industry and wider society.
He added: “We urge the Government to explore options and approaches to ensure that access to labour is not impeded to the detriment of the built environment’s development.”
RICS President Amanda Clack said: “Recent RICS figures have shown that we are in the grip of our worst construction skills crisis in almost 20 years. There is a real concern within our industry that if access to a skilled workforce is further restricted, Britain could stop building.”
