Our Managing Director Peter Forshaw was recently asked to share his insights into the workforce issues surrounding high-rise building remediation. You can read this article on facilitatemagazine.com HERE.
From Peter’s perspective, the heart of this challenge is a labour market that systematically draws highly skilled specialists away from public roles and into better-paid private-sector positions. In his opinion, the shortage of competent fire engineers, surveyors and building safety specialists is not a standalone issue but part of a broader pattern that has undermined remediation capacity for years.
Research suggests that there are less than 30 fully competent fire engineers currently working across English Fire and Rescue Services, with fire safety and building protection staff representing just 2.7% of the workforce. These are roles that take years to train, and retention has deteriorated as skilled staff move into private consultancies where the financial and professional rewards are more attractive.
Peter says the public sector simply cannot compete with private-sector pull factors: “The workforce shortage in this instance appears to mirror the wider trend of highly-skilled workers preferring to work in the private sector. In my experience, this is typically due to the more competitive salaries on offer, better opportunities for career progression, and greater flexibility.”
He notes that while private firms offer clear progression routes, public-sector specialists face constraints that act as long-term deterrents: “Conversely, skilled roles in the public sector can be subject to tighter pay constraints, increased bureaucracy, and fewer opportunities for advancement (or at least that’s the prevailing perception in the candidate pool).”
Another challenge Peter length and complexity of the training required for fire safety and building safety professionals. These barriers are necessary to protect public safety—but they also create a chronic shortfall when demand surges.
As he explains: “The training requirements for building safety professionals are (rightfully) very extensive. Becoming a qualified fire engineer or building safety specialist doesn’t happen overnight; it takes years of training, hands-on experience, and numerous certifications… it can cause a severe lag between supply and demand. It’s a slow talent pipeline, which means vacancies remain unfilled, projects stall, and costs can escalate in times of high demand.”
This lag is evident across the wider construction sector too, where the Chartered Institute of Building estimates a shortfall of 250,000 workers. The NFCC says nearly two-thirds of the 5,554 buildings in the government remediation pipeline remain incomplete, partly because the specialists needed simply do not exist in sufficient numbers.
Peter argues that reversing the shortage requires both immediate intervention and long-term workforce investment. His view aligns with the NFCC’s call for a cross-government construction skills strategy.
“In my opinion, addressing these workforce and skill shortages comes down to attracting and retaining the right people. In the short term, this could involve things like focused recruitment campaigns… or providing opportunities for fast-track training and accreditation. In the longer term, there needs to be a stronger focus on building a stronger, more diverse talent pipeline, something which could be supported through apprenticeships, partnerships with universities, and more accessible qualification options.”
