29th October 2026 | Hudson Contract
The government has published a new construction jobs plan, the industry’s fifth major workforce strategy of the last decade.
The latest effort, subtitled ‘Building the careers that build Britain’, includes an industry ambition to create 100,000 job opportunities a year by the end of this Parliament.
The 65-page report features contributions from the Construction Skills Mission Board, the Construction Leadership Council and its People and Skills Network, the Engineering and Building Services Skills Alliance and the Construction Industry Training Board, which itself has produced two strategic plans since 2020 as well as its annual workforce outlooks.
Commenting on the report, Hudson managing director Ian Anfield said: “If the government wants to boost construction and other industries, it needs to lower the cost of labour, energy and regulation.
“To illustrate the point, the Home Builders Federation estimates that the cost of building a new home has increased by £76,000 since 2020. About half of that is down to inflation in labour and materials and the rest is new taxes, levies and regulations.”
The plan’s partners include multiple government departments, the Fair Work Agency, Skills England, devolved and local government and industry bodies. The full report is available here.
