Britain is actively planning to announce a new visa route for three to four years, Daily Dazzling Dawn understand.

UK Industry executives have cautioned that in order to meet the prime minister's goal of constructing 1.5 million houses by the end of this parliamentary term, the UK must immediately address a skills deficit in the construction industry, including by hiring more foreign workers. As previously reported by The Daily Dazzling Dawn, the National Federation of Builders, which advocates for small and medium-sized builders, emphasized the magnitude of the problem by citing an aging workforce and a decline in apprentices.

Rico Wojtulewicz, representing the NFB, said, “It takes two to three years to train an apprentice and another two years for them to become competent. To meet the housing target, we need to fill that gap immediately, and the solution lies in immigration and bringing skilled workers back into the sector.”

The construction industry’s needs extend beyond builders. “Specialist roles like steelworkers for tall buildings in London and trainers in colleges are critical,” Wojtulewicz added. “We also require experienced building control officers to ensure quality and safety.”A sector-specific temporary visa program was suggested by the NFB. These visas would be valid for three to four years, which is less than the five-year period required to petition for citizenship. According to the company, in order to meet the demands of building in the next years, hundreds of thousands of these visas will be required.Less than 100 professionals, many in managerial positions, have used the current skilled worker visas, which allow for a five-year stay, in the construction industry. Furthermore, as many construction workers work independently, the current visa system's absence of a route for self-employment adds to the obstacles.

Economists have warned that the Labour government will have to relax immigration laws in order to locate the additional half a million construction workers needed to reach its housing objective. To achieve their goal, ministers have suggested a revision to planning regulations and pledged to construct 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, or 300,000 annually. However, according to Capital Economics, the government will also require an additional 500,000 construction workers in England in order to reach their target.

It is understood by Daily Dazzling Dawn that Minister Rushanara Ali can actively address this issue.This would be a 'struggle' at the same time as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is pledging to reduce net migration to the UK. If the government can take the initiative to give the right person the opportunity and stop the visa business, it would be really good for the UK government also.

In a new report, the researchers said ministers could consider 'carving out visas for construction workers' as it was 'unlikely' that domestic workers could fill the shortfall.'With 234,400 net additional dwellings in England in 2022/23, there is an annual shortfall of about 65,000 homes that need to be built for the Government to meet its homebuilding target of 1.5 million homes between 2025 and 2029,' the report said.'But even if the government is successful in ungumming the planning process and 300,000 home approvals were granted each year, the risk is that there wouldn’t be enough construction workers to build the extra homes.'

Ageing demographics compound the issue. According to the Construction Products Association, the majority of construction workers are between 50 and 56 years old. This means about a quarter of the workforce is expected to retire in the next decade and a half.

Separately, the Construction Industry Training Board projects that 250,000 additional workers will be needed by 2028 to meet increasing building demands.

Earlier this year, the Institute for Government think tank recommended easing immigration rules to address the construction shortfall. Angela Rayner, the housing secretary, was urged to develop a skills strategy that might include revising visa regulations to attract overseas talent.

The government, however, maintains that it can achieve the housing target by overhauling the planning system, introducing mandatory housing targets, and creating a dedicated body to deliver new towns. However, industry experts remain sceptical.

The Centre for Cities think tank recently cautioned that the current pace of construction would fall short by at least 388,000 homes.

The Bangladesh government could open up opportunities for thousands of Bangladeshis if it takes a concerted diplomatic initiative for this visa now. The Bangladesh government could take the initiative to provide more training for trained and genuine construction workers through government initiatives.

Immigration lawyer Barrister Md. Iqbal Hossain, Principal Solicitor of Chancery Solicitors in London, told the Daily Dazzling Dawn that Britain's Bangladeshi-origin minister Rushanara Ali is working in the housing sector here. If the British government relaxes the rules to bring in foreign workers to build 1.5 million new houses, then new employment opportunities can be created for at least a few thousand Bangladeshis here.

He said that if the British government takes the initiative to provide opportunities to the right and experienced people and can stop the violence of brokers with visas, then it will be good for them too. 

However, to create that opportunity for Bangladeshis, the lawyer also suggested that the Bangladesh government should communicate and coordinate with the British government's policy-making level in all possible cases in advance.