Impact of the new immigration policy on the construction industry
The UK government's newly published white paper, "Restoring control over the immigration system," marks a significant change in the country's immigration policy, with potential implications for the housebuilding industry and the government's ambitious housing target of 1.5 million homes.
**Impact on the Housebuilding Workforce:**
The white paper aims to curb irregular migration and tighten legal routes into the UK. One of its key measures is raising the skill threshold for Skilled Worker visas from RQF Level 3 to RQF Level 6, which will reduce the number of eligible occupations for immigration sponsorship by more than 100. This change will affect many lower-skilled construction and housebuilding roles, which frequently operate at or below RQF Level 3, as they will lose access to overseas workers through the immigration system unless they are deemed critically needed and placed on a temporary shortage list.
The government will also enforce a requirement that each sector, including construction, must have a workforce strategy in place to train and develop UK workers. Failure to comply could result in losing access to the immigration system to recruit overseas labor.
**Effect on the Government's Housing Target of 1.5 Million Homes:**
The housebuilding industry has traditionally relied heavily on migrant labor, particularly in skilled trades just below degree-level qualifications. By restricting access to this labor pool, the industry may face significant workforce shortages. The stricter immigration rules could slow down construction pace unless housebuilders quickly ramp up training and recruitment of UK nationals to fill the gap.
The introduction of a time-limited Temporary Shortage List may allow some critical housebuilding roles limited access to migrant workers, but this is intended as a stopgap measure while domestic training programs scale up. Overall, there is a risk the new immigration regime could pose a challenge to meeting the 1.5 million housing units target unless substantial investments are made in UK workforce training and skills development alongside strategic immigration exceptions.
**Industry Response:**
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which train 73% of apprentices, will be particularly affected by these changes. The National Roads and Builders (NRB) head of policy and market insight, Rico Wojtulewicz, commends the government's intention for a workforce plan and collaboration among departments. However, he believes that understanding who trains and retains workers is crucial to solving worker capacity immigration challenges.
Richard Beresford, chief executive at the National Federation of Builders (NFB), believes the new policy to be needless, especially in terms of achieving the government's target of building 1.5 million homes before the next general election. Some Labour MPs are still defending the open migration model, claiming it to be fair and necessary.
In related news, a 'Summer Streets Fund' has launched to encourage al fresco dining in London. However, no fact about housing delivery targets or workforce capacity issues related to the 'Summer Streets Fund' was mentioned in the paragraph.
As conversations about strategic solutions grow, it is clear that the success or failure to meet housing targets will depend heavily on how effectively the industry and government implement workforce strategies and navigate temporary immigrant labor allowances.
- The new policy involving stricter immigration rulesmay have a significant impact on the housebuilding industry's workforce, particularly for smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as they may face workforce shortages due to the reduced number of eligible occupations for immigration sponsorship.
- The government's housing target of 1.5 million homes could potentially be at risk due to the stricter immigration policy, as the industry may struggle to meet its construction pace without overseas workers, unless there are substantial investments in UK workforce training and skills development.
