​Why the devolution agenda presents a genuine opportunity for construction

For as long as most people in construction can remember, the industry has talked about skills shortages. Our research at the Construction Industry Training Board shows that we need over 41,000 new construction workers every year to meet demand, and this requirement differs across regions.  

We do not have enough people with the right skills in the right places at the right time. Construction’s fragmented, project-based nature means workforce needs vary by occupation, location and project type, while employers recruit and develop talent differently from sectors with larger, more stable workforces and predictable career paths. 

Training can be shaped more by what the system is organised to supply than by what employers need

Construction does not only need more people. It needs people who can demonstrate that they are competent to do the work safely, productively and to the required standard. Yet our understanding of workforce capability remains incomplete, routes into skilled work are often confusing, and training provision can be shaped more by what the system is organised to supply than by what employers need.  

That is why devolution presents a genuine opportunity. It can connect housing, infrastructure, transport, regeneration and net zero plans with the workforce required to deliver them. 

Joining up skills, jobs and investment   

There’s no better industry than construction to demonstrate why skills devolution matters. It facilitates a regional, demand-led skills system informed by employers’ evolving needs.  

Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) research into workforce mobility shows that in 2015, nearly half (47%) of construction workers surveyed had worked more than 50 miles from home during the previous year. By 2025, that figure had fallen to fewer than three in 10 (28%). That makes it increasingly important that training provision reflects the jobs and projects available within local labour markets.  

Local intelligence can identify where demand is growing and where training provision is falling short, but skills investment is often driven by funding cycles rather than long-term workforce needs. Construction employers need confidence in future work before they invest in recruitment and training, so devolved funding will deliver greater impact when it is linked to clear project pipelines and sustained over several years. 

If a region is preparing for a major housing programme, an infrastructure project or a wave of retrofit, it should not have to wait for a slow national cycle before developing the people it needs

Devolution can also make the system more responsive. If a region is preparing for a major housing programme, an infrastructure project or a wave of retrofit, it should not have to wait for a slow national cycle before developing the people it needs.  

To support regional workforces, we’ve been working with Mayoral Strategic Authorities. We recently signed a partnership with West Midlands Combined Authority committing to the development of a National Skills Academy for Construction. It’s our second partnership under our national initiative to create a connected construction skills ecosystem across England, in which funding can be directed towards real employer demand.  

Place-based flexibility can help provision move at the speed of the labour market and, when done well, this is not localism for its own sake. It’s a better way to turn national ambition into delivery.  

Ensuring consistency nationally and regionally   

Construction needs greater flexibility in how people learn, enter and progress, but much greater consistency in what competence means. A bricklayer, plant operator or site supervisor must be able to carry evidence of competence between projects, employers and regions.  

A bricklayer, plant operator or site supervisor must be able to carry evidence of competence between projects

A competence framework defines the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours required for safe and effective work in the construction industry. Employers need confidence that the same occupational standard applies wherever someone was trained or assessed.  

This is where national and devolved responsibilities must reinforce one another. Industry should continue to define national occupational competence, and qualifications, apprenticeships and assessment should be built around that clear standard. Devolved areas should then have freedom to shape the pathways, provision and employer support that help people reach it, reflecting the industries, projects and labour market conditions of their place.  

Decisions need a common evidence base that joins national workforce intelligence with detailed understanding of occupations, employers and projects in each region. Otherwise, we risk funding only what is most visible rather than what will create lasting capability.  

Redesigning a skills system fit for the future   

Construction should be ambitious about what devolution can achieve. Devolution will not solve construction’s skills challenge on its own, but it can create the conditions to tackle challenges construction is facing, such as the weak links between training and jobs, provision that does not keep pace with demand, and insufficient focus on demonstrable competence.  

The opportunity is to redesign the relationship between national standards, regional investment and employer demand

The opportunity is not simply to redistribute budgets or institutions, but to redesign the relationship between national standards, regional investment and employer demand.  

Success would mean a system that can see demand earlier, respond faster and judge itself by better outcomes. People entering sustained employment, workers progressing, employers investing and competence being demonstrated and recognised. It would support the small firms on which delivery depends, while giving national clients and regulators confidence in the workforce.  

Construction must use devolution to build a more responsive, coherent and accountable skills system. As labour markets become increasingly local, we have an opportunity to strengthen the connection between skills provision, employers and communities. If we get this right, we can create a more resilient, productive and sustainable workforce equipped to meet our future construction needs.   

Tim Balcon is chief executive at the Construction Industry Training Board