Traditionally, workforce mobility has been one of the construction industry’s greatest strengths. When demand surged in one part of the country, skilled workers travelled to where they were needed. But Scotland’s construction labour market has also always been relatively self-contained. Its size, geography and dispersed population mean that moving workers over long distances is not always a practical solution to local skills shortages, particularly in more rural and remote areas.

We’ve recently published research – the Workforce Mobility and Skills in the UK report – which suggests workers are becoming less willing to travel long distances for employment, with family and lifestyle considerations playing a growing part in decisions about where to work. In Scotland, workers are less geographically mobile than the UK average. This means that a labour market that has traditionally relied on a degree of mobility may increasingly need to rely on the strength of its local skills pipelines.

Improving access to technical and vocational education has been a common focus for the government in Scotland in recent years. The Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance) (Scotland) Act will see the establishment of a new apprenticeship committee, enable Ministers to set funding priorities in a new national strategy and will ensure that the voices of workers, employers, businesses and students are at the heart of the funding process.

As workforce mobility declines, building a strong pipeline of local talent will become increasingly important to meeting the government’s housing and infrastructure targets.

A localised construction workforce

Our new research shows workers in Scotland are becoming less willing to travel long distances for employment. Around 58% of Scottish construction workers have spent their entire construction career in Scotland (vs 41% in the UK), and only 8% travelled over 100 miles for work in the last year, which is below the UK average of 10% and down from 14% in 2022.

The average distance from home to site is 15 miles, shorter than the UK average of 21 miles, and only 1% of the construction workforce in Scotland live outside of it whilst working there. These figures point to a relatively self-contained labour market, where construction workers tend to live and work within Scotland rather than routinely moving between regions or across national borders for employment.

If fewer workers are willing to relocate or travel, then employers may find skills shortages becoming increasingly localised. Scotland’s geography makes this particularly important. A dispersed population, significant rural areas and the distances between some communities and major construction activity can limit how readily employers can draw on workers from elsewhere. In practice, this makes the development of skills close to where demand emerges even more important.

The answer lies in developing more place-based skills strategies. For Scotland, this does not mean abandoning mobility but recognising its limits and complementing it with stronger local talent pipelines. That’s why we’re backing projects that focus on this. Recently, our Industry Impact Fund supported the Unlocking Future Connections programme, a two-year programme in Scotland to support the development of a training solution aimed to place and retain construction workers back into the industry upon release from prison. Every person who completes the training moves into a guaranteed interview with a construction employer.

Rather than relying on workers arriving from elsewhere, employers, CITB and government will need to focus on developing local talent pipelines that align with local demand. This is particularly important where geography makes long-distance recruitment difficult or where smaller local labour markets cannot easily absorb shortages by drawing workers from neighbouring areas. The focus should be on building stronger links between employers, colleges and training providers, as well as better labour market intelligence to identify upcoming shortages before they emerge.

Strengthening regional approaches to workforce development

As powers and funding continue to be devolved, there is an opportunity to better align skills investment with local economic priorities.

A place-based approach enables local leaders, employers and training providers to work together to identify emerging skills gaps before they become critical. It helps ensure training priorities are relevant to local employment opportunities. And it creates stronger pathways into construction careers for people who want to build a future close to where they live.

By developing skills that are transferable across projects and sectors, it can also give workers greater long-term career resilience while helping employers respond more flexibly to changing demand. There is evidence to show this is happening with an upward trend in occupational switching in Scotland, contrary to the national trend, with 27% of workers having worked in more than one construction trade over their careers, compared to 16% in 2022.

Businesses that have traditionally relied on attracting workers from outside their region may find recruitment becomes more challenging in the years ahead. The competitive advantage will increasingly belong to organisations that invest in developing local talent pipelines and build stronger relationships with schools, colleges, training providers and communities.

The opportunity ahead

Our research shows that Scotland’s future construction workforce may be less mobile than previous generations. Therefore, CITB, government and industry now need to work together to make sure skills strategies are place-based, so that those in training can take on the jobs that are in demand in their local area, while existing workers and employers are better equipped to respond to changing local skills needs. The increasing localisation of labour markets should not be seen as a barrier to growth. Instead, it presents an opportunity to rethink how we develop construction skills across Scotland. 
That does not mean Scotland should become less mobile. Instead, it means recognising that mobility cannot be the only answer to skills shortages – particularly where distance, geography and the distribution of population make moving workers between labour markets difficult.

As labour markets become increasingly local, we have an opportunity to strengthen the connection between skills provision, employers and communities. If we get this right, we can create a more resilient, productive and sustainable workforce that is equipped to meet Scotland’s future construction needs.