Transfer associations in Scotland have been forced to produce long-term recruitment plans to stop construction workers being wooed away by the massive stock transfer in Glasgow.
The transfer of 81,000 homes from Glasgow council to Glasgow Housing Association will kick-start a 10-year, £1.56bn repair and improvement programme. This is expected to suck hundreds of workers into the city.

A quarter of builders in Scotland were finding it difficult to recruit skilled workers even before works in Glasgow get under way, according to the Federation of Master Builders.

Scottish Borders Housing Association and Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership have taken steps to ensure that the predicted influx of skilled labourers to Glasgow does not harm their improvement plans.

Janice Cambridge, chief executive of Scottish Borders Housing Association, said: "We've been aware of the skills shortage for a number of years, and we are reasonably confident that we can cope with the impact of Glasgow's transfer – but not complacent."

The association has been liaising with local contractors to handle the 50% increase in building work needed to meet its housing quality standard across its 7000 homes.

Dumfries & Galloway Housing Partnership has been recruiting nationally for contractors. It is also heading an initiative to develop local firms and expand current workforces.

Source

Housing Today