The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) estimated last year that around 25,000 additional workers would be needed for major projects, including those related to net zero by 2026. New research reaffirms this but then reveals the labour demand gap will get wider with an estimated shortfall of 40,000 workers by 2028.
The ECITB’s new Labour Forecasting Tool (LFT), just launched, predicts the demand for new workers needed in the engineering construction industry by 2028 is much higher than previously thought. This includes mechanical and electrical engineers, scaffolders, process engineers, project managers, pipefitters, welders and instrument and control technicians.
The ‘first of its kind’ tool specifically focuses on the engineering construction industry (ECI) which is responsible for the delivery, maintenance and decommissioning of much of the UK’s critical infrastructure.
Developed by the ECITB and Whole Life Consultants with the support of a technical reference group comprising key industry stakeholders, the LFT provides insights into workforce numbers across regions and sectors up to 2035, predicting trends and potential future demand for workers.
The tool has been created using insights from the ECITB 2021 workforce census and data from 1,500 active and future ECI projects.
Among its initial findings, the LFT shows there could be a 28% increase in demand for workers in the industry between 2023 and 2028, with nearly 8,000 additional workers potentially needed to meet demand in 2024 alone if planned projects go ahead on time.
Andrew Hockey, Chief Executive, ECITB said: “The Labour Forecasting Tool is a first of its kind. Using data on this scale has not been done before in the ECI and will enable us to build a much better picture of future labour needs.”
The LFT is designed as a resource for exploring workforce trends in the ECI, which operates across the oil, gas, nuclear, renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture sectors, as well as other process industries, such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, water and waste treatment.
The current version of the LFT contains forecast demand data by region, sector and occupational group.
The tool, for example, highlights that an extra 13,000 workers could be needed by 2028 in the nuclear sector, while 16,000 more could be needed by 2030 in the offshore wind industry, which would represent a 75% increase in demand.
Quarterly updates of the underlying project data and updates to the tool will take place after the ECITB 2024 ECI Workforce Census.
Find out more about the Labour Forecasting Tool here