Half of UK Builders Report Job Delays as Skills Crisis Hits 72% of Firms
What happened
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) have published their State of Trade Survey for the second half of 2025, and the numbers are stark. 72% of small and medium-sized building firms now report severe shortages of skilled tradespeople — up from 61% in the first half of 2025.
The knock-on effects are hitting projects hard. 49% of builders say jobs are being delayed because they can't find the right workers. 22% have been forced to cancel jobs entirely.
The hardest trades to recruit are carpenters (30% of firms struggling), bricklayers (29%), and plumbers and HVAC engineers (23%). On top of the labour squeeze, 75% of firms reported increased material costs, with 61% passing those costs on to customers.
FMB chief executive Brian Berry said projects are grinding to a halt when firms can't find skilled workers.
What this means for tradespeople
If you're a qualified tradesperson, the maths is working in your favour. With nearly half of all building firms experiencing delays because they can't find skilled workers, demand for your services has never been higher. That's good for pricing power — but it also means more competition for your attention.
Here's the catch: when customers have to wait longer and pay more, they become pickier about who they hire. A homeowner who's been quoted £15,000 for an extension and told there's a three-month wait isn't going to go with the first name they find. They're going to check Google reviews, compare options, and choose the tradesperson who looks most reliable.
The skills shortage is pushing the sector towards a quality-signal economy. Your qualifications get you in the door. Your Google reviews close the deal.
What to do about it
If you're busy (and most tradespeople are right now), this is the best possible time to be collecting reviews. Every completed job is a chance to lock in a 5-star review while the customer is delighted.
TapReview is a £9/month tool that helps UK tradespeople get more Google reviews by sending automated review requests via WhatsApp and SMS after every job. When the quiet spell eventually comes — and it always does — you'll have a profile full of recent reviews that keeps the phone ringing.
Source: Federation of Master Builders / CIOB State of Trade Survey