The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has released its annual Construction Workforce Outlook 2026-30 report, mapping out anticipated construction demand over the coming five years and analysing the subsequent impacts on the sector's labour force.

According to the forecast, the construction industry is anticipated to return to growth over the medium-term, though it continues to navigate persistent difficulties regarding workforce recruitment and retention. Activity is currently being impacted by a challenging short-term landscape defined by cost pressures and market uncertainty.

Satisfying future building requirements will necessitate a continuous emphasis on recruiting, training, and guiding individuals into sector roles. This strategy involves both the attraction of new trainees and the replacement of personnel exiting the industry. Addressing these workforce pressures will require coordinated collaboration between the government, industry figures, and relevant stakeholders.

The report delivers a comprehensive view of the entire UK, supplemented by specific regional and national insights to assist stakeholders and businesses in identifying where demand will peak and how workforce requirements will evolve over time.

Compiled using a blend of forward-looking and historical data, the Construction Workforce Outlook has been published by the CITB since 2006/2007. It remains the sole report of its kind for the building sector, serving as a vital mechanism for the CITB to identify upcoming training prerequisites by evaluating workforce fluctuations and the demand for additional personnel.

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The report forms a key element of the CITB's broader Industry Picture, an initiative designed to clarify current and future sector circumstances, pinpoint skills shortages, and highlight where targeted interventions will yield the most significant results. As outlined in the Industry Picture, the sector's ability to meet infrastructure, housing, and retrofit goals is being increasingly strained because too few individuals are entering the profession, too many skilled workers are departing, and improvements in productivity have fallen short of closing the resource deficit.

Nevertheless, a clear commitment to supporting the sector has been demonstrated through recent measures. These include a £600m government investment dedicated to construction training, alongside supplementary funding initiatives like the Jobs Guarantee and Youth Guarantee aimed at assisting younger individuals into the workforce.

The complete Construction Workforce Outlook 2026-2030, alongside supporting resources including downloadable documents and an interactive web tool, can be accessed via: www.citb.co.uk/cwo

Tim Balcon, CITB CEO, said: "Our latest Construction Workforce Outlook highlights where construction skills demand is expected to grow, offering the evidence needed to guide workforce and skills planning in a period of significant opportunity and challenge.

"The construction industry is faced with balancing short-term business uncertainty while ensuring there are enough skilled workers to meet the expected demand for longer-term opportunities.

"Together, alongside government and industry stakeholders, we can ensure the construction industry is equipped to deliver for the UK's future."

Mark Reynolds CBE, Co-Chair of the Construction Skills Mission Board, said: "The CITB Construction Workforce Outlook provides the industry with a vital insight into the workforce required to meet the capacity for the most critical trades and professions, across the country over the next five years.

"It demonstrates that there remains significant demand for new people to join our industry and will hopefully give employers more confidence to employ and train new entrants for the sector to continue to grow meet its capability and capacity demands."

Mark Farmer, member of the Construction Skills Mission Board and Construction Leadership Council, said: "There's never been a more important time to be thinking about the strategic outlook for the industry and its workforce needs. This ultimately is a data driven exercise of balancing both current and future supply and demand.

"The latest Construction Workforce Outlook published by CITB indicates that despite industry currently grappling with challenging economic conditions, longer-term needs to replenish and sustainably grow the workforce remain. Bridging the gap between current capacity to employ and train and the imperative to build a future ready workforce remains the central challenge."