THE Chancellor wants British workers to build Labour’s target of 1.5million homes, she said yesterday.
Rachel Reeves insisted more UK brickies, plumbers and electricians were central to the Government’s five-year plan.
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Her intervention follows a Construction Industry Training Board estimate that 251,000 workers will be needed by 2028 to meet demand.
Industry experts calculate that 45,000 will have to start apprenticeships every year — but just 24,000 did so in 2023.
Construction workers can come to Britain on a visa if they earn £30,000 or more.
Asked why foreign labour could not plug the gap, which will be compounded by an ageing workforce, Ms Reeves said: “We need to be training people already in this country.
“We need to make sure that everyone who can work does work.
“Our welfare system is there for people who can’t genuinely work, not to prop up people who don’t want to.”
Neil Jefferson, boss of the Home Builders Federation, said the sector had the capacity to meet existing demand.
But he added: “Tens of thousands of new people will need to be recruited if we are to reach the targets set out.
“If government can create confidence through a more pro-development policy approach, the industry will invest in the people and land needed to increase housing supply.
“Doing so will not only tackle the social issues our housing shortage has created but will also deliver a huge economic boost across the UK.
“Industry is keen to work with government on how we put in place the funding and training framework that allows us to recruit and skill-up our home-based workforce.”
Deputy PM Angela Rayner warned previously that Britain is facing the “most acute housing crisis in living memory”.
