A homeowner in South Norwood rang us asking why her rear extension programme had a four-week wait just to get the plastering booked in. It's not us dragging our feet. The Construction Industry Training Board says the industry needs almost a million new workers over the next six years to keep up with demand, and plastering is one of the trades feeling it hardest.
An ageing workforce
There are roughly 40,000 plasterers working in the UK, and that number is shrinking as more of them reach retirement age than are coming through to replace them. By the end of 2017, CITB figures showed 47% of construction workers were already over 45, and one in five was over 55. That workforce has only got older since, and fewer young people in Croydon or anywhere else are choosing the trade.
Money to fix it
There is money going in. The government has committed funding to create tens of thousands of new apprenticeship places, which is welcome when the Office for National Statistics puts the number of young people not in education, employment or training at around a million. Whether that turns into plasterers on Croydon sites in five years' time is another question, but it's the right direction.
What it means on our jobs
On the extensions and loft conversions we run across Croydon, Bromley and Beckenham, it means booking trades earlier than we used to and building some slack into the programme. A rear extension still needs the same two-coat finish it always did, a skim over plasterboard with a proper key, and no shortcuts just because labour's tight. It's why we keep the same core team rather than chasing whoever's cheapest that week.
If you're planning an extension, loft conversion or refurbishment in Croydon, Bromley, Beckenham or the wider South London area, we've been doing this since 2003. Have a look through our recent projects and get in touch for a free site survey.