Who's Gonna Build it?
Kaitlin Dryburgh
The topic of housing is a significant one. It remains the second highest important issue to voters, after the economy. It sprawls over both national and local news and is fairly central in any political discussion. It’s a source of embarrassment as areas declare housing emergencies. Our dreadfully poor social housing stock produces shocking photos in the media of damp, crumbling and unsuitable accommodation. As thousands bide their time in temporary accommodation hoping they’ll soon get out of living in a cramped hotel room. A personal story in the BBC last week told of a housing officer in Fife, who herself had been made homeless when her private landlord had decided to sell her flat.
On the flip side of social housing we have some private landlords pricing locals out, making it impossible for many students to afford moving out of their parents' house and holiday lets taking hold in cities like Edinburgh. It’s grim reading if we’re being honest. The subject of housing has suffered from institutional neglect for too long and now we’re living the results of it. Building a sufficient amount of social housing doesn’t happen overnight. There are currently 110,000 households on the waiting list for social homes across Scotland, to fill a tall order like that will require many components to be considered.
If Scotland were to commit to those houses tomorrow, we would require a significant amount of skilled tradespeople to undertake the building work. The lack of long-term planning effecting our housing stock also spills over to a lack of skilled people in this sector. This covers anything from community development officers, plumbers, repair people or electricians. Craig Stirrat, Group Chief Executive of Grampian Housing Association believes that the Scottish Government will be unable to meet its target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 as the number of new tradespeople qualifying are unable to combat the amount that are retiring. In Aberdeen City and the surrounding Shire there is a demand for 23,450 workers alone, one of the reasons he gives is not enough workers coming through apprenticeships.
In honour of Scottish apprenticeship week (4th-8th March) the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (which represents 95% of Scotland’s housing associations and co-operatives) and the Chartered institute of Housing has relaunched their Career in Housing website. Both organisations see the value of apprenticeships in this sector and urgently need to recruit if they’re ever to meet their future challenges. Apprenticeships provide invaluable hands-on experience that cannot be replicated through a university degree, they will be key to filling many of the housing roles to beat the emergency.
Yet Scotland has seen the number of young people starting apprenticeships declining over the past ten years, in comparison we have seen our education system become completely geared towards funnelling young people through higher education institutions. Obviously going to university can be extremely beneficial to many Scottish young people, however has our obsession gone too far? Just last April an announcement from Skills Development Scotland stated there were no new Modern Apprenticeships for the foreseeable future due to a delay in budgets. This not only put many individuals in limbo but employers unable to meet a large demand. The countries who will be able to meet the demand of their housing markets and future proof for a green housing stock will be the countries with a more skilled workforce. Those countries provide a more balanced outlook when it comes to vocational skills, such as Germany, Switzerland and even Singapore.
Although there remains a shortage of skilled workers who would build and facilitate the tall order of social housing needed in Scotland, we also do not possess the skilled tradespeople to carry-out the retrofitting work to bring our housing stock up to scratch for our climate goals. All around the world governments are starting to realise that in order to transition away from fossil fuels and reduce carbon usage, tradespeople will be key. As of right now, the numbers are a little worrying. In the US their goal remains to reach 100% carbon pollution free electricity by 2035 which will require an additional one million electricians.
We have already seen the effects of the energy crisis, which saw many households looking to retrofit their homes in a bid to reduce heat escaping and their high energy bills, as well as invest in renewable energy sources. Yet throughout the UK many are having to wait years for a tradesperson to instal their solar panels etc. If Scotland were to implement a plan to retrofit our current old and draughty housing stock, we simply wouldn’t have the means to do it.
In the Common Home Plan we state that in order to just get going with reducing the carbon output of our homes we’ll need 4,000 more skilled tradespeople, but this number would have to be higher in order to meet our deadlines. If we were to truly roll out the use of district heating in social housing we would require thousands of new plumbers alone and require many current ones to develop their knowledge. As it stands there currently around 140 plumbers in training.
Additionally, there needs to be a change to how universities and colleges plan to meet the demand of new skills but even before that the way in which both primary and secondary students are taught should have emphasis on the utility of education and more importantly, skills. Only then can universities and colleges expand their provisions to support workforce development. A plan for skills in Scotland should be more coherent and not seperate institutions with different strategies. With this large transition happening we will require a holistic approach to filling the gaps in our labour market. Yet the transition also covers a shift in our educational value system, apprenticeship and training needs to be thought of on par with university education. After all, can you think of a career that has more longevity than that of a plumber?