The Construction Skills Network report 2006, published by ConstructionSkills, forecasts that 348,000 more employees will be needed for the construction industry by 2010 to meet expected demand - an average of 87,000 new recruits per year.

The report predicts the UK construction industry will continue to experience strong growth, with construction output expected to rise by 12.7% by 2010.

The highest annual skills requirements UK-wide is for workers with wood trade skills (e.g. carpenters and joiners), there is also expected to be a high demand for managers, clerical staff, architects, engineers, and other design and technical professionals. In total, the number of "white collar" workers the industry needs to recruit every year to 2010 is forecast to be over 36,400 - almost 50% of the annual workforce requirement.

The east of England is set to experience the highest rate of employment growth with an increase of 18.6% by 2010, with London at 11% and the South East at 14%.

Growth in the north is expected to slow: construction employment in the North West is expected to grow by 5% between 2006 and 2010, the North East by 6%, Yorkshire and Humberside by 6% and Scotland by 8%.

Wales and Northern Ireland will also see strong growth. Construction industry employment in Wales will rise 12%, driven in part by the £3.2 billion Welsh Quality Standards Scheme, and a 13% increase in Northern Ireland can be attributed primarily to the large public investment programme planned for the region over the next 10 years.

Contrary to popular myth, the indications from the data at this stage are that delivering the Olympics programme will not impact on the successful completion of regional construction projects.

Although the Olympics programme is high profile, has a value of around £2.5billion over the next seven years and will need an average workforce of 5,000 each year (peaking at 9,300 in 2010), it is not enough on its own to significantly boost output. CSN estimates that the Olympics programme will account for only 0.2% of the UK’s total construction workforce between now and 2010.