What the new housebuilding targets mean for local authority workforce management

Following the 2024 general election results and the king's speech that followed on 22nd July, the UK have heard the government’s ambitious plans to build hundreds of thousands of new homes, with many designated affordable or social housing. 

This plan of growth poses challenges and opportunities for both the construction sector and the local authorities that are going to need to source a larger workforce in professions such as planners, health and safety, facilities management, and logistics. 

Using EVP to meet increased demand for skilled labour 

The construction sector already faces a skills shortage, with an ageing workforce and a lack of new entrants.  

A survey by the RTPI showed that 82% of local authority planners said their employer had difficulties hiring planners in the last 12 months. 68% see competitive salaries as a key difficulty for local authorities.  

Utilising EVP is one way to show the value in being a part of this new wave of building affordable housing for those caught up in a housing crisis, as well as work-life balance, recognition, culture, and social impact.  

Local authorities can appeal to the motivations and preferences of different segments of the workforce, such as those new to the sector with transferable, women, candidates with disabilities and ethnic minorities, who may be underrepresented or overlooked in the industry.  

Creating talent communities to meet repeatable but varying talent needs 

A surge in housebuilding will drive demand for workers in waves, for example facilities management workers in areas of construction for the period of the project. 

One way that local authorities can cope with the varying talent needs in sectors such a facilities management is to create talent communities through advanced direct sourcing, which are networks of potential candidates who share a common interest or skillset and who can be engaged and nurtured for future opportunities. 

Talent communities can provide local authorities with qualified and motivated workers faster and more cost-effectively by maintain regular communications with this community, keeping them ‘warm’ to the idea of working for their organisation.  

Talent communities can also foster a sense of belonging and loyalty among the candidates and increase their retention and satisfaction once they are hired. By creating talent communities, local authorities can have a pool of ready and willing talent to meet the fluctuating demand for different roles and projects in the housebuilding sector. 

Ambitious housebuilding targets are an initiative to tackle the housing crisis and stimulate the economy, but they also pose significant challenges and opportunities.  

The sector will need to adopt a proactive and collaborative approach to address the skills shortage, to invest in training and development, and to improve the productivity and retention of the workforce, in order to meet the quality and efficiency standards and to deliver the desired outcomes. 

Transforming talent in Local Government 

Get the very latest local authority talent insights in our brand-new research report. Conducted in partnership with Inside HR: Transforming Talent in Local Government is based on survey responses from 60+ local government execs, procurement and HR leaders. 

Download the report