Prefab & Off-site Isn’t Optional, It’s Essential: Why Modular Construction Is a Hiring Strategy, Not Just a Build Method

Off-site and modular construction are no longer fringe innovations. Across the UK and US, they’re fast becoming the go-to method for schools, healthcare facilities, housing, and data centres. In this article, Jamie Trevett unpacks why prefab isn’t just a build method. It’s a workforce strategy. Contractors who fail to adapt their hiring and delivery models risk falling behind.

A few years ago, modular construction was a niche topic.

Fast forward to 2025 and it’s everywhere; in housing, healthcare, infrastructure, and education builds. What was once seen as a cost-saving experiment is now being demanded by developers, government frameworks, and project managers who simply can’t afford delays.

But here's the bit no one talks about: prefab doesn’t just change how you build. It changes who you need on your team.

For contractors building in public housing, schools, and healthcare, off‑site construction isn’t just faster, it’s now expected.

In the UK, authorities like Homes England and the NHS are explicitly mandating modern methods of construction (MMC), including volumetric modules, panelised systems, and pod assemblies. A recent government initiative tied MMC adoption to affordable housing frameworks and public procurement, with housing grants now conditional on a minimum of 25% MMC delivery (House of Lords Built Environment Committee report, July 2024).

Over in North America, modular construction is quickly moving from niche to mainstream. According to the Modular Building Institute’s 2025 report, the modular construction industry captured 6.6% of total new construction starts in 2023, with strong traction in hotels, student residences, and commercial developments. The US market alone is expected to grow to over $35 billion in 2025, with a steady CAGR of 4.6% through 2033.



Modular construction can drive up to 50% faster delivery and reduce site labour by as much as 30%, making it a strategic lever for time, cost, and safety performance.

What This Means for Contractors & Workforce Planning

Working in prefab today is fundamentally different. It’s not just about building off-site, it’s about integrating factory scheduling, site sequencing, and install teams into a synchronous system.

Required roles and skills include:

• Lift coordination specialists who understand crane sequencing.
• MEP installers trained for plug-and-play systems rather than site fabrication.
• Cladding and facade teams who fit to tight schedule windows.
• Site supervisors experienced in managing modular logistics.
• Factory-trained joiners and framers operating to tight tolerances.



Across both markets, tradespeople with modular-ready experience are earning higher rates and staying in demand longer. 

Factory-Built, Site-Finished: But Still Human Delivered

Let’s kill a myth: prefab doesn’t mean fewer people. It means different people doing different work in different environments.

Off-site delivery shifts a big chunk of work into controlled conditions. Faster, safer, and more repeatable. But that only works if the people on the receiving end can manage sequencing, lifting, fitting, and finishing with no room for error.

That means today’s modular delivery requires:

• Joiners and dryliners with precision tolerances.
• Lift coordinators and crane supervisors for multi-ton installs.
• Fit-out leads who can adjust sequencing based on real-time logistics.
• Site managers comfortable with lean delivery models and remote QA workflows.



This is a different rhythm than traditional site work and it demands a different hiring mindset.

How Modular-First Contractors Are Hiring Differently

The firms getting prefab right aren’t reacting when modules arrive; they’re building hiring strategies around them.

In the UK, firms like Laing O’Rourke, TopHat, and Urban Splash have embraced off-site delivery and are upskilling or hiring modular-specific talent across both factory and field teams.

In the US, major players like Skanska, PCL Construction, and modular specialists like Modulous are designing roles around digital pre-construction and rapid-fit install. The focus is on:



• Cross-trained trades who can handle factory and site work.
• Supervisors who understand just-in-time sequencing.
• Electricians and MEP installers familiar with plug-and-play systems.
• Quality controllers trained in factory-built spec.

Modular Isn’t Just Faster, It’s Smarter, Too

Speed gets most of the headlines. But the real benefit of prefab is control.

With prefab, you get:

• Better safety outcomes (fewer work-at-height risks).
• Lower rework costs (factory QA beats site conditions).
• Tighter schedules (parallel fabrication and groundworks).
• Better carbon tracking (material use is more predictable).

And as delivery gets smarter, the workforce has to follow suit.

That means:

• Schedulers who can juggle module production and install.
• BIM coordinators who can align factory design with site layout.
• Foremen who can keep subcontractors working in tighter windows.



The old model of “we’ll figure it out on site” doesn’t work when you’re lifting 10-tonne bathroom pods into position on Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. sharp.

Final Take

Prefab is no longer a backup plan. It’s the first choice for clients who care about speed, cost, and sustainability. And that means it needs to be front of mind for contractors, not just in terms of logistics, but in terms of people.

If your hiring model still assumes traditional sequencing and open timelines, you’re already behind.

Plan your team like you plan your build: with precision, foresight, and adaptability.
Because modular construction might be built in a factory, but it’s delivered by people who know what they’re doing.

At Just Construction, we’ve seen first-hand how modular construction is transforming workforce planning across both the UK and US.

And if you want to hear how this plays out on the ground, don’t miss the next episode of the Construction Presidents Club Podcast.

Steve Phifer, Executive VP at Rodgers Builders, shares nearly four decades of experience in healthcare construction, including how prefabrication and modular strategies helped his teams deliver live hospital expansions that traditional methods simply couldn’t handle.

Episode goes live Tuesday, Sept 2nd at 5PM EST - Built to Heal: Steve Phifer on the Heart of Healthcare Construction