Building a skilled and competent workforce in the RMI sector

It’s a commonly accepted fact that there is a shortage of skilled tradespeople in the UK, along with a gap in the skills required to take us forward in meeting the UK’s Net Zero target and plans for building more homes. The gap is particularly acute in the skills needed when improving homes to make them energy efficient and to lower their carbon footprint.

A recently published report by TrustMark, ‘Skilled to Build’, looks at the Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (RMI) sector, specifically the small and micro businesses operating within the sector and the challenges they are facing around recruitment, training and funding, both of people and knowledge. The report also highlights actionable and practical recommendations to address the identified gaps, affect change and build a skilled and competent workforce.

The research, which was commissioned from Eureka! Research, with economic analysis from Oxford Economics, includes evidence collected from more than 1,200 small and micro businesses to provide an ‘on the ground’ perspective of the challenges and comprehensive solutions required to help identify and alleviate the skills gap. The report also creates actionable and practical recommendations to address the identified gaps, affect change and build a skilled and competent workforce.

Vacancies hinder the RMI sector

The key findings from the report show a strong desire amongst micro and small businesses to recruit, with nearly half (45%) of businesses reporting at least one current vacancy. Recruitment appears to be a much larger issue than retention with these businesses, who have indicated specific challenges to fill the vacancies, including:

• Micro businesses report one vacancy
• Small firms report just over three vacancies
• Businesses actively looking to grow report five vacancies.

It found that a shortage of skilled workers is holding back the UK’s RMI sector, hampering net zero goals, and threatening the long-term stability of thousands of small firms.

As a result of the vacancies, many businesses are forced to turn down work. Over half (52%) of respondents said they are scaling back due to staffing constraints, with sole traders and micro businesses most affected.  Relying on subcontractors has become a common workaround (used by 37%), but even that solution is under strain, with 56% of businesses saying that dependable subcontractors are increasingly hard to find.

A ticking clock 

The sector’s current workforce is ageing fast with an estimated 39,000 businesses at risk of disappearing from the sector in the next 10 years. While 21% of the UK workforce are aged 55 years or older, 44% of the workforce in the RMI sector are older than 55 years, of which a quarter of those plan to stop or semi-retire within the next three years.

Without a clear succession pipeline, close to 40,000 businesses could exit the sector in the next decade. The issue is highly time sensitive and is expected to further exacerbate skills shortages going forward. This poses a critical challenge where the rate of businesses exiting the sector will not be replaced by a similar rate of new entrants.
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Among business owners approaching retirement, 55% said they’re willing to give back by mentoring, training, or helping to shape the future workforce in some form. This points to a real opportunity for industry, colleges and the wider education environment to capitalise on and extrapolate both knowledge and skills from this skilled workforce before it is lost, especially if 39,000 businesses are set to disappear.

Three bottlenecks for businesses

In addition to the macro challenges facing the RMI and construction sectors, businesses have called out three specific bottlenecks in finding, recruiting and training that require immediate redress:

Burdensome recruitment processes

• 44% want a simpler, more transparent hiring process
• 39% say bureaucracy and paperwork are major barriers to recruiting apprentices

Inadequate training provision and providers

• 22% cite a lack of suitable apprenticeship courses
• 29% say there’s not enough support from training providers
• 34% have hired a young apprentice in the past three years
• 52% haven’t hired an apprentice at all
• End Point Assessment completion has dropped from 55% (2017/18) to 35% (2022/23)
• 49% of business owners often spend significant time supervising apprentices due to insufficient training quality

Limited access and awareness of financial incentives

• 64% say financial support isn’t adequate for trade-based apprenticeships
• 7% have accessed the Apprenticeship/Skills and Growth Levy
• 32% cite lack of time or guaranteed work as reasons for not training apprentices
• 21% access CITB training or funding, and the £1,000 grant is widely seen as insufficient

Unrealised economic potential

If the sector were to fill its existing vacancies, which amount to an estimated 195,000 additional workers, the RMI sector could unlock a substantial economic boost by £9.6 billion in revenue and £4.1 billion in gross value added (GVA), representing a 4.3% uplift from its current annual contribution of £96 billion.

Importantly, the benefits would not be limited to London and the South East and would also help to reduce regional disparities. Over 70% of the GVA gains would be distributed across other regions in England, reinforcing the argument that growth is not only possible but also widely accessible and strengthens the case for targeted investment to level up the country.

Grow a competent workforce for a greener future

To develop a competent workforce in renewables and clean heat technologies, it is essential to focus on both retraining the current workforce and building a robust talent pipeline.

The urgency is clear – 79% of renewable energy businesses report having vacancies, signalling a sector-wide struggle to attract and retain qualified staff. This ongoing skills shortage is already creating significant operational challenges.

More proactive support is needed to help businesses transition into renewables and prepare for future market growth. The sector is strongly voicing its need for increased training opportunities:

• 44% of companies say they require financial support to fund training courses
• Many express that time off for retraining would be highly beneficial
• And 20% believe that dedicated training centres for renewables are a critical need.

Adding to the complexity is the limited awareness and confidence among homeowners when it comes to adopting renewable and clean heat solutions. Addressing these gaps, on both the supply and demand sides, will be crucial to ensuring the UK is ready for a low-carbon transition.

Looking to the future

TrustMark is committed to helping to address the chronic skills situation the construction and RMI sectors are facing and is looking to collaborate with government and industry to enhance the current infrastructures and build a resilient and long-term competent and skilled workforce. To help drive this national campaign, four practical recommendations have been proposed on how the skills challenge can be addressed:

• Developing and delivering fit-for-purpose training and curricula
• Strengthening the navigation system for businesses to find recruits
• Unlocking and raising awareness of the financial incentives available
• Promote upskilling in renewables and clean heat

Simon Ayers MBE, CEO of TrustMark, concludes: “Our research found a strong desire for growth within the RMI sector but these businesses need support to help make that happen. Our report provides not only their view of the challenges they face along with what they need to overcome them, but recommendations for what and how that can be done. This sector needs to be prioritised and by working collaboratively across it, the wider industry, associated organisations and government, we can all help to achieve warmer, more comfortable and healthier homes for the UK.”

To read the full TrustMark report here, click here www.trustmark.org.uk/pages/skills-gap-research/thank-you

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