The building materials industry, with a focus on regions like Northampton, is advancing a national recruitment campaign to tackle skills shortages and support the UK Government’s housing ambitions.
The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) is spearheading the Building Materials Careers initiative (bmcareers.com), which seeks to attract new talent, including career changers and military veterans, into a sector valued at £51 billion. The campaign, launched earlier this year, is part of a broader workforce development strategy tied to the government’s goal of delivering 1.5 million new homes.
The programme builds on the success of the BMF’s Apprenticeship Pledge, which met its target of 15,000 apprenticeships five years ahead of the original 2030 deadline. It now shifts focus to increasing awareness of career opportunities across manufacturing, supply, and merchant operations, areas critical to construction site productivity and innovation.
The online platform features job listings and personal accounts from professionals already in the sector. Participating businesses, including major suppliers and distributors like STARK Building Materials UK Ltd, have aligned their hiring efforts with the campaign to future-proof their workforces.
This industry-led effort is viewed as vital to the infrastructure needed to scale up materials production and distribution, essential for meeting rising demand from housebuilding projects across the UK. The initiative also complements broader government and private sector moves to build a more resilient and inclusive construction supply chain.
