Poll: Does the UK have a sufficient number of skilled workers?

A fresh surge in construction activity has fuelled concerns that there are not enough skilled workers in the UK to keep pace with expansion.

There are not enough skilled workers to meet increased activity in the building sector, it is feared.

Today's headline figure for the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply's (CIPS) August survey on construction showed a bigger-than-expected jump to 64 from 62.4 in July - one of the sharpest rises in output for seven years.

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The boost is being driven by the recovery in housebuilding but CIPS chief executive David Noble is worried the construction sector's longest run of employment growth since the recession is revealing a major skills shortage.

He said August saw the quality of sub-contracted work deteriorate at the fastest rate since the survey began in 1997, alongside a record reduction in the availability of sub-contractors and a record rise in the rates charged.

Across the supply chain, delivery times also saw the sharpest rise since the survey began, with input prices growing at the fastest rate since July 2011.

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