Mayor aims to fill 12,000 jobs and get West Midlands building again
The Mayor of the West Midlands has launched a plan to get the region building again by mobilising an army of young people to fill thousands of jobs.
Richard Parker hopes to turn the region’s building boom into an opportunity for 12,000 young people as he launches his Building Growth Action Plan.
The West Midlands has seen a surge in construction activity with the Deloitte Birmingham Crane Survey 2026 recording 23 new starts on site in 2025 the highest number in five years and more than double the previous year.
The construction growth is being driven by the demand to build 12,200 new homes each year to combat the housing crisis as well as a £160 million retrofit programme to insulate properties and cut household energy bills, flagship regeneration schemes like the East Birmingham Sports Quarter and £2.4bn investment in transport.
The mayor was joined at the launch of his Building Growth Action Plan by key stakeholders and partners, including the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), which estimates the region needs 12,000 construction workers over the next three years.
He said: "While the future feels uncertain for many, construction offers a well-paid, stable career for life. Whether you’re working with bricks and mortar or in engineering and design, there are huge opportunities.
“We are now seeing a construction boom across our region and I am determined to make sure local people are at the front of the queue to secure the vital jobs this is creating – jobs that are quite literally building the West Midlands and building Britain.
“My Building Growth Action Plan will bring together investment and partners to deliver the skilled pipeline of talent that the industry needs, powering new jobs, building new homes and creating new opportunities to drive investment, growth and prosperity across our region.”
The ambitious plan aims to bridge the skills gap by creating more training placements in construction, and by strengthening transition from full time study into work through high quality industry placements.
It follows the mayor's announcement of £75 million in additional funding for construction training along with plans to unlock further private investment.
The plan is to be led by key partners and businesses in the construction sector, who will work together to grow a sustainable pipeline of emerging talent and will build on the success of the recently launched Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC) – led by Dudley College.
It will bolster existing initiatives like the West Midlands Combined Authority’s (WMCA) Path 2 Apprenticeship and Construction Gateway, as well as local employer-led programmes, and will support people into work as well as upskilling the current workforce to keep pace with the needs of the sector, helping to deliver the Mayor's Growth Plan.
