UK construction in 2025: The key challenges and opportunities ahead

Housing crisis and labour shortages

The UK’s housing crisis remains front and centre, with the new government setting ambitious housebuilding targets for the next five years. Among other priorities, meeting these goals requires addressing a chronic labour shortage.

According to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the UK construction sector will need an additional 251,500 workers by 2028 to meet demand. This shortage stems from an aging workforce, the impact of Brexit and limited training opportunities. The Construction Products Association (CPA) highlights the ongoing demographic crisis, reporting an average loss of 70,000 workers annually over the past five years, while apprenticeships fall short at 31,000 starts per year—with a 40% dropout rate, resulting in a net annual loss of 50,000 workers.

The government’s strategy to address this gap focuses on upskilling the current workforce, bolstering apprenticeships and establishing Technical Excellence Colleges. However, the skills crisis is likely to persist as a major challenge in 2025, requiring innovative solutions to sustain growth.

Future Homes Standard and building regulations

2025 marks the mandatory implementation of the Future Homes Standard, introducing changes to Part F and Part L of the Building Regulations. These changes will prioritise energy efficiency at the construction stage, putting the spotlight on sustainable building materials and technologies. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) reported that the residential sector accounted for 19% of the UK’s final energy consumption in 2021, underscoring the urgency of sustainable materials and practices.

Innovative materials such as highly engineered timber panels are emerging as a critical solution for creating airtight, thermally efficient and sustainable buildings. For example, airtight OSB can be used as structural inner sheathing in timber frame wall and ceiling assemblies in low-energy buildings. This panel eliminates the need for separate AVCL membranes, combining structural strength with integrated vapour control and an air barrier. Such panels offer consistent vapour resistance over the entire surface, while the rigid panel design reduces susceptibility to damage compared to flexible membranes.

Roly Ward, head of business development at Medite Smartply (Photo: Medite Smartply)

Wellbeing-focused designs

Demand for comfortable living spaces continues to grow, with sound control being one of the crucial factors. Meeting sound reduction targets, such as achieving at least 40dB reduction in airborne noise within a residential unit to comply with Building Regulations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is vital for creating peaceful, liveable environments in family homes.

In 2025, prioritising sound insulation will remain central to enhancing wellbeing in housing developments. Timber panels have a role to play here, offering versatile solutions for use in I-joists, metal web joists and solid timber joists within internal floors.

As 2025 approaches, the construction industry must balance ambitious housebuilding targets, skills shortages and evolving regulations. At the same time, it must innovate to meet the demands for sustainability, energy efficiency and wellbeing-centric designs. These challenges also present opportunities for forward-thinking solutions that can shape the future of the built environment.