23 Oct Why Britain’s housing crisis is good news for tradesmen

Why Britain’s housing crisis is good news for tradesmen

Tradesmen across the country may soon find themselves to be in high demand as politicians vow to tackle Britain’s housing crisis.

Appearing on BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said that he wanted the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, to borrow £50 billion to fund the building of hundreds of thousands of new homes to combat the UK’s housing crisis.

Javid set the government an ambitious target of building 300,000 homes a year, which would allow for “a big increase in all types of home”, including build-to-rent properties, shared equity homes, and social housing. To raise the money required, Javid said that it was necessary for the government to “take advantage of record low interest rates” to invest in infrastructure.

Javid went on to say that the matter will be dealt with in the upcoming Autumn budget, stating that the government will be making sure they use everything they have available to them to deal with the housing crisis.

However, it was not long before doubts were cast over Javid’s proposals. A few days after, when Chancellor Phillip Hammond was asked in the House of Commons about the idea of borrowing billions of pounds to build more housing, he replied that it was not government policy to do so. However, he reportedly stated that he agreed with Javid that “increasing activity in the construction sector is a very good way of creating jobs”.

But the fact remains that the country still needs more houses. While it may not be on the same scale that Javid is suggesting, the demand for more homes and for a sufficient number of tradesmen to complete the work remains. This is great news for many tradespeople, as it is likely to lead to an increased amount of work and higher rates in the near future.

In related news (which could add further problems to the housing dilemma), a property development company has recently found that the construction industry is facing a large shortfall of staff, suggesting that if there is soon to be a boom in housing, there won’t be enough workers to meet the demand.

Property developer Bellway released its preliminary results for the 2016-17 financial year in October, which although showed gross profits of £661.6 million, also highlighted a potential problem of skills shortage on a major scale, particularly in roles such as bricklayers and scaffolders. Bellway pointed its finger towards Brexit and the increased immigration controls as the reasons for why the construction sector is seeing a lack of new talent.

With not enough tradesmen around, there will have to be a limit forced upon how much building work the can happen. However, there is again good news for those already employed in the construction industry, as it means that those already equipped with the sought-after skills will be able to charge a lot more for their work. It’s for these reasons that the recruitment firm Manpower recently found that some trades in the UK earn six times the national average wage.

So, if you’re employed in the construction sector, the value of your work may well and truly be appreciated in the coming years, but before you get to providing clients with your fantastic skills and services, you must first make sure you have the correct form of business insurance in place.

Providing tailored business insurance quotes for builders, electricians, plumbers, scaffolders, and more, Tredstone is the perfect place for tradesmen to find the right business insurance that suits all their needs. Get a quote today.