Is There a Labour Shortage in the UK's Roofing Sector in 2025?

Is There a Labour Shortage in the UK's Roofing Sector in 2025?

The roofing sector in the UK, particularly in the Northeast, is facing a growing challenge in 2025 as the industry grapples with a significant labour shortage. This shortage is affecting all three major sectors of roofing—heritage, domestic, and commercial—but its impact varies across these areas. As experts in the field at Northern Heritage Roofing, we’ve seen first-hand how the situation has evolved, the reasons behind it, and what might be done to address it.

Heritage Roofing: A Sector with Specialized Needs

One of the most affected sectors by the labour shortage is heritage roofing. Heritage sites often require highly skilled tradespeople who can work with traditional materials such as slate, thatch, and clay tiles, which require specific knowledge of older building techniques. The demand for these skilled workers has been increasing due to the growing need to preserve and restore iconic structures across the country.

In the Northeast, there are several prestigious heritage sites such as Durham Cathedral and Newcastle Castle that require continuous maintenance. To ensure these sites are preserved in line with heritage standards, experienced roofers who understand the complexities of these materials are essential. As a result, Northern Heritage Roofing has had to launch recruitment drives to meet the increasing demand for skilled labour capable of tackling such specialized work.

The labour shortage in heritage roofing is compounded by a declining number of young apprentices entering the field. Roofers in the heritage sector often have decades of experience and many are retiring, with fewer new workers entering the trade due to the complex skill set required. This situation creates a supply-demand imbalance, pushing wages up and leaving some heritage projects delayed or underfunded.

Domestic Roofing: The Growing Demand for Home Improvement

The domestic roofing sector has experienced a steady increase in demand over the past few years, especially as more homeowners in cities such as Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough look to improve or replace their roofs. With older housing stock in the Northeast, many homes require roof repairs or full re-roofing, which often involve common roofing materials like asphalt shingles, felt, and modern tiles. While this sector is somewhat more accessible to newcomers, the shortage of skilled roofers is still being felt.

At Northern Heritage Roofing, we’ve seen increased competition for roofers as the demand for domestic roofing services continues to rise. For example, the popularity of home improvement projects and the rise in extreme weather events such as storms and floods have led to a significant number of insurance claims for roof repairs. Homeowners increasingly seek reliable roofers, but the shortage of experienced personnel makes it difficult to meet this need efficiently.

Despite the shortage, the domestic sector benefits from the fact that it doesn’t require the same highly specialized skills as heritage roofing, which allows for quicker training and entry into the workforce. However, even in this area, the skills gap remains a challenge.

Commercial Roofing: The Need for Large-Scale Projects

Commercial roofing is another sector feeling the strain of the labour shortage. This segment includes larger-scale projects such as shopping centres, office buildings, and schools that require fast, efficient work with materials like EPDM (rubber roofing), single-ply membranes, and flat roof systems. While commercial roofing doesn’t always require the same depth of craftsmanship as heritage roofing, it demands highly organized teams with strong experience in large-scale project management.

In the Northeast, cities like Sunderland and Newcastle are seeing significant commercial developments, including new office buildings and retail spaces, which require substantial roofing work. At Northern Heritage Roofing, we’ve found ourselves struggling to fulfil contracts for these projects due to a lack of available workers. With the construction sector booming, especially post-pandemic, the demand for commercial roofers has surged, and the lack of skilled tradespeople has become more pronounced.

Causes of the Labour Shortage

Several key factors contribute to the labour shortage in the UK’s roofing sector:

1. Aging Workforce: Many roofers are approaching retirement age, especially in the heritage sector. The skills required for these older techniques take years to develop, and there are fewer young people entering the trade.
2. Lack of Apprenticeships: Roofing, especially heritage roofing, is a trade that requires years of hands-on experience. Unfortunately, apprenticeship opportunities are limited, and young people are more likely to pursue office-based careers or other skilled trades, like plumbing or electrical work, which seem more accessible.
3. High Demand in Other Sectors: The broader construction industry is also experiencing a boom, with workers in high demand across multiple trades. As a result, there are fewer roofers available to meet the demand in the roofing sector, especially with competition for skilled labour rising.
4. The Pandemic Effect: The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted apprenticeship programs and delayed training schedules, which further exacerbated the skills gap. Many workers left the sector during this time, and recruitment has been slow.

Predictions for the Future: Will the Labour Shortage Improve?

It’s hard to predict with certainty whether the labour shortage in the roofing industry will improve in the near future. However, we can anticipate that the situation may get worse before it gets better unless swift action is taken.

Northern Heritage Roofing is hopeful that as the industry increases its focus on training and apprenticeship schemes, there will be a gradual increase in skilled workers entering the roofing trade. However, unless there is a significant shift in attracting new talent, particularly for specialist sectors like heritage roofing, the labour shortage is likely to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future.

The Need for Recruitment Drives

The roofing sector in the Northeast has seen first-hand the importance of recruitment drives to meet the demands of both commercial and heritage projects. For instance, when tasked with repairing the roof of Newcastle Castle, we had to scale up our workforce and launch a targeted recruitment campaign to ensure we could meet both the project’s timeframe and the strict heritage preservation guidelines. Similarly, for a large commercial project in Sunderland, we were forced to recruit additional personnel to meet the deadlines and fulfill the contract efficiently.

Conclusion

The roofing industry in the UK, and particularly in the Northeast, is experiencing a significant labour shortage in 2025. While all sectors—heritage, domestic, and commercial—are impacted, heritage roofing seems to be facing the most strain due to its specialized requirements. The shortage is driven by an aging workforce, a lack of apprenticeships, and competition from other sectors. While Northern Heritage Roofing is actively working to address this issue through recruitment drives and training programs, the labour shortage will likely continue to affect the industry unless greater efforts are made to attract new talent into the trade.

As an industry, we must focus on providing opportunities for young people to enter the roofing trade and ensure the future of both traditional and modern roofing techniques across the UK.

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