Checkatrade Report: 71% of UK Tradespeople Say Skills Shortages Are Blocking Growth
What happened
Checkatrade's Trade Nation report, based on a survey of 850 UK tradespeople, reveals that seven in ten (71%) say skills shortages are stopping them from expanding their businesses. Eight in ten (79%) say rising material and tool costs are also holding them back.
The shortage is worst in high-growth sectors. Nearly nine in ten (88%) tradespeople working in home decarbonisation and retrofit technologies — heat pumps, insulation, solar — say skills gaps are causing major challenges. Nearly half (47%) of trades say they've never hired an apprentice and have no plans to, citing cost as the main barrier.
The wider industry data backs this up. The UK will need over 225,000 additional tradespeople by 2027 just to meet existing demand, with projections warning of a potential shortfall of nearly one million workers by 2032.
Despite this, 72% of tradespeople remain confident about their business future.
What this means for tradespeople
The skills shortage creates a two-sided pressure. On one hand, if you're established and well-reviewed, demand for your services isn't going anywhere — there aren't enough people to do the work. That's good for pricing power and job security.
On the other hand, as government initiatives like CITB's accelerated apprenticeships and fully-funded SME training schemes ramp up, new entrants will come. When a newly qualified electrician or plumber enters your area, the first thing a homeowner checks is their Google reviews.
If you've been established for years but have 3 reviews from 2023, a new entrant with 15 fresh reviews will look more trustworthy — even with less experience.
What to do about it
Use the current demand to your advantage: every job you complete is a review you could be collecting. A steady stream of recent reviews is the moat that protects your business as new competitors enter the market. It's also worth considering whether you could take on an apprentice — the government's fully-funded training for SMEs makes it more affordable than most trades realise.
Source: Checkatrade — Trade Nation Report