1 in 3 Construction Companies ‘Employ Migrant Workers’

A new report from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has revealed that a third of companies in the sector currently employ migrant workers, with more than a third saying they do this because the UK doesn’t have enough skilled applicants for them to choose from.

As such, it seems that for many in the sector, taking on migrant employees has nothing to do with cheaper labour costs – with 22 per cent of the employers asked saying that such members of staff have a better work ethic, while a third said such workers are more readily available than British employees while boasting comparable skills.

London appears to be the city most reliant on migrant workers, with the study showing that one in two companies admit that they’re very dependent on them. This compares to the approximate one in six in Yorkshire and the Humber.

“While most firms are not reporting an impact from Brexit, those who employ migrants are concerned about the future availability of EU workers.  But with over three-quarters of construction workers expecting to stay in the next 12 months, we have breathing space to adapt to any changes in migration policy,” director of policy at the CITB Steve Radley said.

New analysis from The Migration Observatory has also just revealed that National Insurance Number registrations issued to certain EU migrants have fallen to their lowest levels since their countries (including Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Latvia) joined the EU… which suggests that the UK is proving to be less attractive as a destination for migrants from these A8 countries since the referendum was held.

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