Warning that UK’s migration crackdown could impact Scottish construction

Construction of the Renfrew Bridge over River Clyde in Scotland. The bridge officially opened to road and marine traffic on 9 May, 2025, at midnight. Image: GRAHAM

That is the warning from the Scottish contractor panel of the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS), which tracks tender price movements in the country.

The contractors’ concerns around the government’s white paper on reducing immigration came as they reported a 4.65% increase in costs for the year to Q2 of 2025.

Panellists reported that it is becoming harder to recruit workers with the right skillset, at the same time as they are absorbing increases to employers’ National Insurance Contributions and the impact of constrained capacity in the supply chain.

Among the government’s proposals on migration is the raising of the skilled worker visa threshold to RQF 6, the equivalent of graduate level.

The immigration white paper shows that the majority of skilled worker visas granted in construction since spring 2024 have been for applicants below RQF 6, which BCIS said suggested the changes could have a “significant impact” on the sector.

BCIS chief economist Dr David Crosthwaite said, “There has been a decrease in migrant labour in Scotland since Brexit, which the contractors said has particularly affected availability in Aberdeen. They’ve also seen an increasing trend of workers moving abroad for work, to places where there is the incentive of tax-free employment.

“This is in tandem with the already known problem of the workforce being dominated by the older age group, so there is natural attrition through retirement. On top of that, the panel are reporting many older workers - who are highly experienced and have been on site for decades - are choosing to leave the sector rather than go through the process of gaining qualifications to get a CSCS card.”

Alan Wilson, a panel member and managing director of electrical contracting trade association Select, said the changes could disproportionately affect Scottish construction.

He said, “A projected rise in work demand in England in 2026, in housebuilding especially, is likely to lead to Scottish workers migrating south, with no opportunity to top up here with workers from abroad.”

He called on Scotland’s First Minister to lobby the UK government over its immigration policy, to maintain the current RFQ 3 position on immigrant workers, to highlight the potential skills drain if Scottish workers move south to plug gaps, and to engage with construction professions on how they can best support firms to recruit more young people.