70% of home building entrants attracted to ‘protected’ industry, as opportunities elsewhere decline
A new report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and Pluto Finance, Artificial Intelligence and skills in the home building industry, highlights the scale of the workforce challenge facing the sector and demonstrates that, far from replacing jobs, artificial intelligence is set to increase the need for skilled labour across home building and its supply chain.
The report, launched at today’s (24 March) HBF Policy Conference, shows that just 6% of construction businesses expect AI adoption to reduce company headcount in the future, compared to 11% of businesses in other industries. The findings underline the extent to which home building remains a fundamentally hands-on, site-based industry in which technology will enhance the productivity of skilled workers, but not remove the labour requirement needed to build the homes the country needs.
The report comes at a time when the UK is facing significant labour market challenges among young people. Currently, 16% of people aged 16 to 24 are unable to find work, compared to a national unemployment figure of 5%. Home building represents a major opportunity to provide secure, skilled and long-term careers for young people in every part of the country.
While AI is expected to play an increasingly important role in improving construction processes, design, planning and productivity, AI cannot lay bricks, install roof trusses or plaster walls. Nine in ten early talent respondents said that the job security offered by home building was an important factor in choosing to join the industry, while 70% said protection from rising automation was a motivation for doing so.
More than 80% of new entrants said AI will change how people work in home building over the next 10 years, but 67% agreed that jobs in home building are less likely to be replaced by AI than those in many other industries.
The findings of the report illustrate the extent to which the sector can offer future-proofed career opportunities at a time of increasing anxiety around automation and the changing nature of work. They also reinforce the central role that people will continue to play in delivering housing at scale, even as the industry adopts new technologies and modernises its practices.
Home building is set to become an even more attractive industry to enter for young people. To raise output from current levels of around 200,000 homes per year to the Government’s target of 300,000, it is estimated that the home building sector will need to recruit an additional 300,000 people across the supply chain. The overwhelming majority of these roles are skilled, site-based and technical occupations that cannot be fully automated.
HBF is calling on policymakers to prioritise workforce expansion, including retention, competency and training, alongside wider housing and planning reform. This requires:
· Enabling employers to expand apprenticeship capacity and reducing administrative burdens on employers
· Improving careers advice to highlight construction as a high-skill, high-value sector with strong career pathways and progression prospects
· Supporting work experience and development programmes for career changers.
· Ensuring further education colleges are funded and equipped to deliver trade-specific training at scale and produce work-ready graduates
· Encouraging greater diversity in the workforce, particularly with regard to gender.
With the right policy interventions, home building can play a central role in both addressing the country’s housing needs and tackling youth unemployment. Apprenticeships, traineeships and vocational routes into trades and site management can provide clear pathways into stable, rewarding careers in a sector that is technologically evolving but remains fundamentally human at its core.
Neil Jefferson, Chief Executive at the Home Builders Federation, said: “At a time when too many young people are struggling to find work, home building offers a real opportunity to access secure, skilled and rewarding careers in an industry that is evolving technologically but remains human at its core.
“If Government is committed to meeting its housing targets, we need to match the evident ambition when it comes to planning with action across the other policy areas that impact housing supply. We need to see a clear focus on workforce expansion by backing apprenticeships, supporting further education, improving careers advice and helping more people from all backgrounds to enter and progress in the industry.
“The industry has weathered political, policy and geopolitical storms in recent years and maintained high levels of employment. We now stand ready to make the leap necessary to bring the Prime Minister’s 1.5 million homes ambition a more realistic proposition. With the right support, our sector can deliver the homes the country needs while creating hundreds of thousands of long-term jobs.”
Justin Faiz, CEO and Co-Founder at Pluto Finance, said: “As one of the UK’s leading providers of development finance for home builders, we are only too aware of the impact that the construction industry skills shortage has on housing delivery.
“What is clear, however, is that this is a moment of real opportunity for the sector. As AI is adopted across home building, it is already improving planning, development viability and project forecasting, bringing greater certainty to schemes and supporting faster capital deployment. Crucially, these advances are complementary to the workforce, increasing productivity while reinforcing the need for skilled people on site.
“With the right focus from industry and policymakers, there is a strong chance to put the skills shortage behind us and reposition construction as a sector of first resort, not last resort, offering secure, high-quality careers at scale while supporting the delivery of the homes the country needs.”
The report can be downloaded at hbf.co.uk/ai-homebuilding.