London’s social housing sector at risk of labour shortages, says report

London’s social housing sector needs up to 31,000 workers to deliver new planned investments over the next five years, according to a new report. 

The ‘Building Skills for the Future Report’, published today by the London Homes Coalition, identifies labour shortages as the critical risk to the maintenance, retrofit and provision of London’s social and affordable housing. 

Analysing the consolidated work programmes of seven housing associations in the coalition, the report identified a demand of 10,000 people annually to meet asset management commitments, and up to 31,000 to deliver new planned investments over the next five years. 

The London Homes Coalition is a partnership of major housing associations, contractors and specialist suppliers in London and, combined, represents about 10% of the overall construction workforce in the capital. 

Members include Peabody, L&Q, The Guinness Partnership, Metropolitan Thames Valley, Notting Hill Genesis, Hyde Housing, Sovereign Network Group. 

It said that, without action, the coalition alone faced a potential shortfall of around 2,600 skilled people. 

The challenge is particularly critical for specific trades and occupations. 

Based on current recruitment trends, the coalition will only have 85% of the roofers and 78% of the surveyors needed to provide and maintain affordable housing across the capital over the next five years. 

Fiona Fletcher-Smith, chief executive officer at L&Q, said: “A quarter of London’s new homes are built by housing associations, and we are responsible for maintaining and investing in over 700,000 homes across the country.  

“However, our workforce is ageing, retiring, and not being replaced by newly trained staff. This growing challenge threatens the provision of genuinely affordable, warm and safe housing in the capital.” 

The report recommended the promotion of the sector nationally in collaboration with education providers, the removal of barriers to apprenticeships and skills development, as well as greater certainty around work pipeline and funding in order to allow for long-term training. 

According to the coalition, to achieve the necessary uplift, it will be essential to “redouble” efforts to diversify the workforce. 

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Currently, women represent only 14% of the construction workforce in London – and only around 2% in trade occupations – while ethnic minorities only make up approximately 24%. 

Elly Hoult, chief operating officer and deputy chief executive at Peabody, said: “We recognise there is no ‘quick fix’ to this issue. It needs a long-term plan, with organisations across the sector working together to bring about significant change.  

“This is an important first step and we welcome more organisations to join the London Homes Coalition. Together, we’re finding ways to get more people from all backgrounds into construction jobs, while addressing the skills gap that increasingly becomes a barrier as we aim to build more homes and refurbish many others.”