The London construction market could be crippled by a Hard Brexit as latest figures show nearly one in four builders in the capital are from the European Union.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is warning that any ouflow of workers would leave the capital’s sites “high and dry”.
His Housing in London report reveals that currently 95,000 construction workers in London are from the EU out of a total of 350,000.
Khan, said: “When I speak to businesses – both large and small – one of the biggest issues they raise with me is the skills gap.
“They tell me that maintaining a skilled workforce is absolutely crucial to their future and the future of the whole economy.“London is in the grip of a serious housing crisis – and fixing it is going to be a marathon, not a sprint.
“While we are working to train up more Londoners to have the skills to work in construction, you can’t escape the fact that a ‘Hard Brexit’ could leave a quarter of the skilled construction workforce in the capital high and dry which would have a crippling effect on our plans to build the homes Londoners so desperately need.”
Cllr Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council and member of the London Economic Area Partnership, said: “We urgently need more skilled construction workers in London. The Mayor has asked me to bring together partners from local government, developers, the construction industry and training providers to address this.
“While the challenges are significant, made even more urgent by the expected impact of Brexit, the leadership provided by the Mayor on this issue will enable us to work together to propose sustainable solutions in order to ensure a world-class construction workforce for London.”
from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/02/27/quarter-of-all-london-construction-workers-are-from-eu/
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