From The Telegraph:

Robots, migrants and millenials to build much-needed British homes

Telegraph

By Anna White | Telegraph – 5 hours ago

“The stark reality is that Government targets of 250,000 homes a year is just not achievable.”

The housebuilding industry needs to recruit one million more construction workers in the next five years if Britain is to stand a chance of tackling the housing crisis, according to a new report.

Some 700,000 new workers are needed by 2020 just to replace the large number of those retiring at a time when the UK is facing a chronic shortage of homes for its burgeoning population, says E C Harris, a building consultancy.’ …

In order to deliver the 250,000 homes required about 100,000 more than the current annual build rate even if all the trained bricklayers across the UK joined the effort, there still wouldn’t be enough to meet targets.

… As the construction industry struggles to respond to the syncronised recovery, migrant labour is “likely to be one of the best options for extra manpower” the report found.

Census data from 2001 to 2011 suggests a rise in the proportion of construction workers born outside the UK of 5pc to 106pc. This means approximately 220,000 non-UK born migrants were employed in construction in England and Wales in 2011.

“Inward migration may be the only practical way to get Britain building in the short-term – even though it takes away the immediate pressure to put in place long-term training and skills development programmes,” said Mr Farmer.