Labour shortages cited as biggest barrier to growth for Scottish construction firms

Scottish construction firms are still being prevented from growth because of persistent difficulties in sourcing skilled workers, a survey has found.

The RICS UK Construction Market Survey said that labour shortages in the sector are becoming increasingly visible in all divisions with 63 per cent of respondents citing it as the leading restraint on growth.

RICS Scotland director Sarah Speirs said finding the right workers had become a “practical challenge”.

Bricklayers and construction professionals (including quantity surveyors) being in short supply with 53 per cent and 59 per cent of respondents retrospectively reporting difficulties sourcing these skills in Scotland.

Around 55 per cent of firms highlighted finance as the biggest issue facing growth.

Released today, the survey for Q1 2015 also revealed that workloads remain positive in Scotland across all sectors.

The private sector remains the principal driver of growth, with 33 per cent of respondents reporting a rise in private commercial workload activity and private industry seeing the strongest rise in workloads in Q1.

Sarah Speirs said: “Despite the outward optimism, there are some very real unknowns which are impacting on industry, including the general election, the UK’s relationship with Europe and skills shortages.

“Now that material shortages are becoming less of an issue, the practical challenges are now in providing the skilled labour the industry needs and in alleviating the financial constraints, which saw nine months of decreased lending in 2014.”

Despite all the anecdotal evidence that a degree of uncertainty is entering the market in the count down to the general election, outward confidence for growth in the Scottish market is strong, with 63 per cent of respondents expecting their workloads to rise over the next 12 months and 3.75 per cent growth in 2015.

Rod Shaw MRICS, Thomson Gray in Edinburgh added: “Increasing workloads are resulting in labour shortages becoming more widespread and not just restricted to specialist contractors.”