Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) shows the government has a plan
The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) held its first board meeting today (26 June 2025), where it set out a roadmap for recruiting 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of Parliament.
Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB) is a recognition that construction and government must work together to tackle the skills crisis and achieve its growth ambitions. The CSMB’s focus on demand acknowledges that unless the regulatory environment enables work pipelines, existing workforces cannot be sustained, and new workers cannot be added in any serious numbers.”
Mark Reynolds, co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council will chair the CSMB. The board will focus on five key areas to drive increased recruitment:
- Confidence to employ and invest
- Clear new entrant pathways
- Access to provision and support to train
- Funding that works
- Reliable and rewarding careers
The first meeting will be attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP.
The government has also announced a partnership between Jobcentres and the industry, which will better equip more people with the skills they need to start or discover fulfilling careers.
Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight for the NFB and House Builders Association (HBA), said:
“For too long, it was assumed that training workers guarantees job. The reality is that while 8 in 10 construction apprentices start their training with SMEs, these businesses only build 9% of homes, are struggling with procurement, and many are leaving the industry due to the broken planning system. As a result, many learners fall out of training because there isn’t anyone to train to retain them.
The missing ingredient has always been government intervention. If the government can unlock project certainty and pipelines, particularly for SMEs, not only will we see more workers trained, but more will be taken on as direct employees. This means greater job security and clear, long-term career pathways.
It cannot be overstated how important it is that so many government departments will sit on the CSMB. It shows the Labour government have taken their growth challenge seriously.”