A hard Brexit could cause loss of 215,000 workers, warns Arcadis

The British construction industry could lose out on 215,000 EU workers if there’s a ‘hard’ Brexit.

According to research carried out for Arcadis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the reduction in the British construction work force could be equal to the entire population of Luton.

This assumes that there would be an extension of the points-based system currently in place for non-EU migrants.

The report found that a ‘soft’ Brexit could see the industry lose out on 136,000 workers - around 78,000 fewer.

If those EU nationals leaving the industry can’t be replaced at the same rate, the research estimates 215,000 fewer people would enter the infrastructure and housebuilding sectors between now and 2020, based on an assumed combined workforce of 1.5 million.

Arcadis Director of Strategic Workforce Planning, James Bryce said: “What started as a skills gap could soon become a skills gulf. The British construction sector has been built on overseas labour for generations, and restrictions of any sort - be it a hard or soft Brexit - will hit the industry. Missing out on over 200,000 people entering the workforce could mean rising costs for business, and much-needed homes and transport networks being delayed. If we can’t import the right people, we’ll need to quickly ramp up training and change the way we build.”

Mr Bryce added that methods like robotics and offsite manufacturing have “never been taken as seriously as they should, but could well prove the difference”.

The Arcadis methodology was based on Article 50 being triggered in Q1 2017.

Further information

https://www.arcadis.com/en/united-kingdom/our-perspectives/2016/november/brexit-could-see-british-construction-miss-out-on-215000-workers/