AS the redevelopment of Whitehill and Bordon progresses, builders predict that a skills shortage in the industry will hamper housing delivery, according to research by the Federation of Master Builders.

Eventually this will, smaller builders think, overtake access to finance as the bigger barrier to providing new homes.

Whitehill and Bordon will see thousands of new homes built over the coming decades and will need plenty of skilled workers on the ground.

The town is well placed to plug any gaps, with the Future Skills Centre offering opportunities for post-16 students to learn the necessary trades.

Centre manager Steve Gilder told the Bordon Herald that the solution was to engage with schools and Government agencies to create a skilled workforce, especially in the current political and economic climate.

“Vacancies across the construction industry, from vocational operatives (carpenters and bricklayers) to technical/professionals (civil engineers and site managers for example), are still running in the tens of thousands,” he said.

“As the country faces up to the challenges of Brexit, alongside the ageing population working in construction, there are continuing fears around a sustainable workforce for ambitious infrastructure projects and the house building sector.

“The Future Skills Centre (at the former Louisburg Barracks) has been working closely with the Whitehill and Bordon Regeneration Company and employers, including Barratt Homes and Taylor Wimpey, to ensure young people leave us with the required qualifications and experience they need to excel in the construction industry.

“This has led us to significantly increasing our apprenticeship numbers from last year, with more than 20 now enrolled with local and national companies undertaking brickwork and site carpentry qualifications.

“However, there are still training opportunities for individuals looking for a career in plumbing, electrical, site management and much more. We need to continue to work with schools, community groups and Government agencies to ensure that present and future employment needs are met.”

Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders said: “Nearly half of builders believe the skills shortage is a major barrier to their ability to build new homes.

“The construction sector is heavily reliant on EU workers, with just under one in 10 workers in the sector born in the EU. Brexit, coupled with the end of free movement, threatens to further intensify the skills shortages we already face.

“Given that the UK will leave the EU in less than six months, house builders are understandably concerned that skills shortages could worsen and choke housing delivery.

“To combat this skills crisis, the construction industry needs to encourage more entrants into the industry and develop higher quality qualifications. It is critical, therefore, that the Government does not pull out the rug from under the sector by introducing an inflexible and unresponsive immigration system.”

Key results from the Federation’s House Builders’ Survey 2018, an annual assessment of small and medium-sized house builders in England, included:

n The percentage of small-to-medium enterprise (SME) house builders saying that a shortage of skilled workers is a major barrier to their ability to build more new homes, rose to 44 per cent (up from 42 per cent in 2017).

n A lack of available and viable land tops the list as the most commonly cited barrier (59 per cent) to increasing housing delivery, and almost two thirds of SME house builders (62 per cent) believe the number of opportunities for small-site development are actually decreasing (up from 54 per cent in 2017).

n Nearly half of small house builders (46 per cent) say access to finance is a major barrier to their ability to build more homes.

n More than half (51 per cent) of SME house builders view the planning system as a major constraint on their ability to grow, and inadequate resourcing of planning departments was again rated as the most significant cause of delay in the planning-application process for the third year in a row.

n When asked to look ahead over the next three years, more firms cited skills shortages as a likely barrier to growth than access to finance.