SCOTLAND won't meet its climate change targets unless 79,000 more construction workers are recruited by the end of the decade, ministers have been warned.

An inquiry by the Fair Work Convention (FWC) warned some 50,000 plumbers, electricians, joiners and other tradespeople are due to retire in the next 10 years while there are fears there are not enough younger people entering the ageing sector.

It underlined the significant role the sector will have in reducing carbon emissions by retrofitting buildings with energy-saving measures such as solar panels, heat pumps and improved insulation.

Under its strategy to reduce carbon emissions, the Scottish Government wants buildings to be more energy-efficient so by 2030 over one million homes and 50,000 non-domestic buildings are converted to zero-emissions heat.

It has pledged to invest £1.8bn over the course of the current Parliament to accelerate the programme and support people on lower incomes to install green devices.

However, the FWC report warned the ambition to make homes and other buildings more energy efficient would need more construction workers.

“In the next 10 years [the construction industry] faces an ageing workforce and skills shortages and must meet the challenges associated with delivering a net-zero carbon economy,” it said.

“Skills Development Scotland (SDS) estimates that an additional 79,100 workers will be needed in construction by 2029, and extensive upskilling and retraining of the existing workforce will be required to support the decarbonisation of the built environment.”

It added: “While emissions from the built environment and construction currently account for around 40% of total national emissions, construction is also at the forefront of the transition to a net-zero carbon economy.

“In the coming years significant investment to decarbonise the built environment will be needed and the construction workforce in Scotland will need to expand to support retrofit activities.”

The inquiry identified issues which it said would need to be addressed for the sector to attract more staff.

While it found that the typical pay of £29,055 was higher than the national median of £26,007, it also underlined limited security of work with just under one-quarter of workers self-employed and others on insecure contracts.

It also found that many construction workers are employed by “umbrella companies” where they could struggle to access basic employment rights like holiday pay and sick pay, despite having employee status.

The inquiry also underlined low wages for younger workers with average apprenticeship wages in construction below the real living wage.

It underlined the male-dominance of the industry with 85% of the workforce men and 15% women – a proportion it said was largely unchanged since 2009. It said only 1.6% of the workforce came from a minority ethnic background compared to 4.3% for the workforce as a whole.

The Fair Work Convention inquiry made 26 recommendations which included calls for:

 Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to conduct a review of current apprenticeship pay and publishing the findings by September this year.

 Scottish Government to convene a working group that includes employers, trade unions and SDS to address skills shortages and future labour needs in the industry. It said the group should aim to: work with employers to identify vacancies and future skills needs; define clear skills pathways required to support the transition to a net-zero economy, including for workers who are changing careers; and create advertising campaigns encouraging young people and older workers to consider careers in the industry.

It also said the Fair Work Convention should return to this inquiry after five years to examine how well recommendations have been adopted and evaluate the industry against the fair work outcomes set out.

The report estimated the industry is worth around £7 billion to the economy, provides 5 per cent of all jobs, and also said it played a “fundamental role in communities and society” building schools, homes, hospitals, offices, and other vital infrastructure.

Co-chair of the Fair Work Convention, Professor Patricia Findlay of Strathclyde University, said the sector was “facing a real challenge with thousands more workers” needed to support retrofit activity and to replace workers who are about to retire.

“We need Government to embed our recommendations, and we need key players such as the Construction Leadership Forum to provide the leadership and vision the sector needs – because if they don’t, Scotland won’t meet its climate change targets and there can be no just transition to a net-zero carbon economy.”

Co-chair Mary Alexander, deputy regional secretary for Unite the Union Scotland, added: “Transitioning to a net-zero economy is not going to be easy and it will require significant investment and leadership from the Scottish Government, but we need to seize the opportunity to transform this industry, building fair work conditionality into all net-zero funding.

“Construction jobs must be good quality which is why our inquiry recommendations have focused on increasing direct employment, ensuring workers and apprentices get the rate for the job, driving high and consistent standards across all parts of the industry.

“Our inquiry found that there are clear practical challenges to the transition to net zero, with little demand in the market for low-carbon building techniques. Ultimately, too many people currently working in construction do not have the skills they need for retrofit activities.

“Too few employers offer training, and a quarter of the workforce is self-employed and many more work for umbrella companies or agencies.

“Too many workers will have to source and pay for their own training and face a loss of income while taking up courses. Workers need better support if the industry is to meet the challenges ahead.”

STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “The STUC has been abundantly clear that a labour shortage in Scotland can be addressed through creating high-paid, high-skilled jobs with collective bargaining and sectoral agreements at their core.

 

“This includes creating well-paid and secure apprenticeship programmes which attract and retain workers within the sector, giving a clear pathway for progression reducing employer exploitation. 

“However, this alone cannot alleviate any predicted labour shortage as Scotland’s workforce pays the price of a damaging UK Government Brexit process which has reduced labour availability within the sector.

“The Scottish Government must now rise and meet the recommendations set out in the report, ensuring a construction sector that’s fit for the future and resources to meet our net-zero targets.”

Fair Work Minister Richard Lochhead said: “The Scottish Government works together with industry through the Construction Leadership Forum, which developed a Construction Recovery Plan published in October 2020 containing 36 skills and workforce actions.

“A shared apprenticeship model is being piloted to further support the sector, and research is being undertaken to estimate skills needs around heat decarbonisation to support the sector in a just transition to net zero.

“The Fair Work Convention inquiry makes a range of recommendations on how to enhance the sector’s fair work and competitiveness, making it more appealing to workers, and this will be considered by ministers.”