THE construction sector’s major trade bodies and umbrella groups have joined forces to warn the UK Government of the dangers of a “cliff-edge” in terms of access to European Union workers as Brexit looms.

The Federation of Master Builders, Association for Consultancy & Engineering, Build UK, Civil Engineering Contractors Association, Construction Products Association, Home Builders Federation, and National Federation of Builders have today set out what they believe to be the sector’s “responsibilities and requirements” in a post-Brexit labour market.

Nelson Ogunshakin, chief executive of the Association for Consultancy & Engineering, said: “Without the skills that many EU nationals bring to the industry, we could be facing severe setbacks to the UK’s national infrastructure pipeline. ACE’s own surveys show that there is an increase in the number [of] EU staff leaving the UK for jobs on the Continent and this will only get worse if we do not bring certainty to EU workers’ residency rights.”

While the seven groups’ Construction Industry Brexit Manifesto “commits the sector to doing much more to recruit and train additional UK workers to reduce its future reliance on migrant labour”, it makes it clear this cannot happen overnight. And the industry groups emphasise their view that, “for some time, there will likely remain an ongoing need for significant levels of skilled EU workers”.

They lay out what the industry needs from a post-Brexit immigration system “in order to be able to deliver the Government’s strategic objectives for new housing and infrastructure”.

The seven groups, which describe their move as an “unprecedented show of unity”, say the UK Government should as soon as possible agree a transition period of at least two years, during which time EU workers arriving in the UK should “continue to have a path to settled status”.

It adds that the post-transitional migration system should be based on key occupations that are in short supply, rather than on “arbitrary thresholds based on skill levels or income”.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders, said: “With the country facing a shortage of skilled workers and the most acute housing crisis in living memory, the Government needs to provide certainty to existing EU workers in the UK and enable construction SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] to attract more home-grown talent into the industry.”