What changed: BESA's 2026 labour-market research reports continuing recruitment pressure across UK building services, particularly for skilled installation and maintenance personnel. For project teams, the useful response is not simply to request more labour. It is to make available labour more productive through clearer information, access and sequencing.
What the latest research says
The BESA Labour Market Intelligence Report 2026 says 66% of surveyed employers report ongoing shortages of skilled installation and maintenance personnel. It also reports that apprentices and trainees are the hardest roles to recruit for 75% of employers, while the building-services workforce is expected to grow over the next five years.
The pressure is visible in Scotland too. CITB's current workforce outlook says the Scottish construction industry will need nearly 18,000 additional workers between 2025 and 2029. These figures cover a wider market than ventilation installation alone, but they explain why contractors and project teams are paying closer attention to labour availability, supervision and competence.
Why this matters before mobilisation
A shortage does not automatically mean a project should carry a larger crew. The first question is whether the planned crew has a productive place to work. Installers cannot recover a programme if the drawing revision is unclear, the workface is occupied, material cannot reach the zone or a technical decision remains open.
When skilled labour is constrained, preventable waiting has a higher cost. A day lost to access or information is not only a programme issue on one project; it can also disrupt the contractor's labour plan across the next project or phase.
Five actions for estimators and project managers
- Define the package earlyRecord inclusions, exclusions and interfaces before labour assumptions are fixed.
- Share an area-by-area programmeShow when each workface is expected to be clear, not only the overall start and finish dates.
- Confirm access and material flowLoading arrangements, vertical transport, storage and working height can determine productive output.
- Protect supervisionDo not assume that increasing headcount automatically provides the management and coordination needed for parallel crews.
- Review changes quicklyRe-phasing, late revisions and blocked zones should trigger a labour-plan review rather than an automatic request for more installers.
What to include in the RFQ
Give tendering contractors enough information to assess both price and delivery: current drawings, the relevant specification, project location, package scope, programme dates, phasing, access constraints and tender deadline. Ask what assumptions support the proposed labour and whether the programme depends on multiple workfaces being available at the same time.
This makes quotations easier to compare. A lower labour allowance may reflect a narrower scope or a different assumption about access. A higher number may include supervision, second-fix activities or a compressed sequence. The total only becomes meaningful when the basis is visible.
Cliventa's practical position
Cliventa reviews ventilation and ductwork opportunities against the information available for the actual package. Crew and programme discussions remain project-specific; we do not apply a generic rate or promise output without reviewing drawings, scope, access and sequence.
For the detailed planning questions, read how many ductwork installers a commercial project may need. To prepare an enquiry, use the ductwork RFQ checklist.
Sources and review date
This update is based on BESA's Labour Market Intelligence Report 2026 and CITB's current Scottish workforce outlook. It was reviewed on 16 September 2026 and should be checked again when either organisation publishes a newer workforce forecast.