The Price of Delay: Why Skilled Labour Shortages Are Driving Tender Costs Up

Skilled trades shortages aren’t just slowing projects. They’re inflating costs, damaging margins, and losing bids before ground is even broken. In this blog, Jamie Trevett lays out how labour gaps are hitting contractors in both the UK and US, why they’re making tenders harder to win, and how smart firms are solving it before the first hire is even made.

Let’s Get Real: Labour Shortages Aren’t Just a Site Problem Anymore

If you’ve tendered for work recently, you already know the game’s changed.

Clients don’t just want a price and a timeline. They want to know how you’ll actually deliver.
And in both the UK and US, that question now boils down to one thing: do you have the people?

We’re in a market where:

• Skilled trades are ageing out.
• Mid-level site leads are vanishing.
• Juniors aren’t sticking around without a clear path forward.

And clients? They’re wising up.

If your team looks thin on paper, your numbers go in the “maybe” pile or just the bin.

UK: Rising Tenders, Shrinking Labour Pool

According to Munich Re, the UK construction industry is facing “acute labour shortages” across multiple trades, with the knock-on effect being rising tender prices and delayed project starts.

We’ve seen it play out first-hand with SME clients who had the pricing right but couldn’t guarantee the crew.
Guess what? They lost out.



And it’s not just the build cost that’s rising; it’s the risk factor. If you can’t prove you’ve got labour lined up, the risk sits with the client and they’re not biting.

US: Delays Are Quietly Costing Millions

In the States, the picture’s no better. ABC.org estimates the industry needs 439,000 new construction workers this year just to meet demand. And with housing spend down and margins tighter, many firms are putting off hiring until they absolutely need to.

Here’s the problem:



• By the time you need to, everyone’s booked.
• You end up overpaying, overpromising, or delaying delivery.

Either way; you’re losing time, money, or trust.

What Delays Are Really Costing You

Let’s break this down practically:

• Tender Win Rate drops if you can’t back up delivery timelines.
• Project Margins shrink when you scramble to fill gaps last minute.
• Reputation suffers when projects get paused, pushed, or patched.
• Retention drops when stretched teams burn out mid-project.



This isn’t just about day rates.

It’s about long-term positioning. You either become a contractor clients trust to deliver or one they quietly avoid next time.

Smart Firms Are Planning for the Workforce They’ll Need, Not Just the One They’ve Got

Here’s what our top-performing clients are doing, across the UK and US:

• Building workforce plans into every bid.
• Booking trades weeks ahead, not days.
• Lining up backfill options in advance.
• Hiring mid-level site leads before they’re desperate for them.
• 
  

Some are even taking it further, locking into subscription models like Just Recruit+.

Why? Because they know labour shortages aren’t a one-off problem. They’re a pattern.
And the smart money’s on firms who solve it before it hits their jobsite.



If your recruitment plan only starts when you’ve already won the job, you’re already behind.

Final Take: Cheap Labour Is Costing You More Than You Think

You can’t cut corners on delivery and expect to stay competitive in 2025.

The firms winning now aren’t just cheaper, they’re better prepared.
They’ve got labour plans that prove they can show up and get it done and clients are rewarding it.

You don’t win tenders by guessing who’ll turn up.
You win them by showing you already know who will.