Why is it so hard hiring trades now?

[JustTheOneSwan]

Need a new bathroom with disability access.
Have so far called ten plumbers, had two people to look, never got a quote and today a 'designer's who works with a plumber who wanted a decision today and a deposit tomorrow.
His price wasn't terrible but he ignored four specific things I asked about and designed (not even as good as the free one on Victoria plumb) a big standard (pub intended) bathroom then started applying pressure to get a contract signed.

I don't use other social media so I can't scour Facebook I just want it back to asking around and people turning up!
I'm not being tight or asking for tricky things and it is plumbers I'm asking not bin men or gardeners.
I want to give them money in exchange for work why is it this hard?

My impression is that round here, there is so much house building going on, all the trades have got big contracts and aren't interested in domestic stuff.

I wondered if it's because they don't felt on reputation as much.
I've got a front window view of number 2 having a new kitchen and I'm full of trades envy.
Two, yes two plumbers she's had with her Nissan leaf and solar panels.
😠

Felt=rely!

My dh is a plumber, he’s busy busy busy at the moment but all domestic work. He always quotes on time, if you’re in the West Midlands drop me a message! Never give a deposit to anyone pressuring you, it’s not a good sign.

It was hard to find local tradesmen before, but now many of them have gone home to Europe....

That's what put me off Mouse, I didn't even have a choice of items he just did a basic design with generic suite, showed me his work like I should be impressed then dangled a September install date and started on about the deposit.
I was expecting £8500 but giving him 2.2k just before he buggers off on holiday rang the klaxon.
Wasted a monster on him too.
Tut.

We have found of hard to get people to quote for what are probably considered 'small' jobs. Likely because so many people are doing big jobs that they didn't do during the past two years. Which is fair enough. But, what a lot of them don't seem to realise is that once the backlog is cleared, they will need those smaller jobs. We have managed to get a couple of jobs done by people who were recommended to us. And when we are in a position to have some more major work done, either next year or the year after, they are the companies we will go to first. The ones who didn't deem our smaller, but necessary jobs to be beneath them. And those are the ones we will recommend to others.
Good luck OP.

Agree with @TheMousePipes
BIG RED FLAG if someone is putting pressure on you to pay them a deposit (and before a holiday - I wonder where your money will actually be going!!).

A bit different but my DH is a conservation/maser builder (and has done numerous bathrooms over his time) - he would NEVER pressurize anyone into paying a deposit. At the start or very close to the start of a project yes, but not weeks beforehand.

Don't panic you will find someone.

Brexit - loads of the Polish workers have gone home.
This has made life better for DH as he is now constantly booked up.

Not so good for people who want work doing though.

Surely you must have heard about the shortage of workers in absolutely every sector?

I had same problem a few months ago. Small job needed doing. Not one company was interested. Family helped us out in the end.

Brexit

Because we neglected to do apprenticeships for many years and relied on overseas only
Also covid money saved on holidays wtc people had work done

Its all well and good blaming brexit but we should of been training our own tradesmen
This didn't happen on a large scale for years

I never understand this how can it be true?
A country with say 60 million population will need more nurses/plumbers/teachers than a country with 20 million population but will have a bigger pool of workers to fill those roles.
Add to that the fact that we are supposedly going into a recession and everyone is cutting back on non essentials, how can there be a shortage of workers in every area?

@Fairyliz should be no unemployment technically but doesn't seem to work like that

Circa 30 years ago all the big builders laid off their employed tradesmen, joiners, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, etc and turned to subcontractors instead.

It cut costs but it also cut the numbers of apprentices getting trained. The subcontractors became very cut throat and didn't have the guarantee of work load to carry apprentices. Also it takes a tradesman time to train an apprentice, that's time he's not being productive.

For a long time the shortages was masked by importing Polish tradesmen. They've gone home and the UK has massive shortages.

Of course.
And we'd be happy to wait.
But I haven't experienced being ignored, having my time wasted, being hung up on, waiting in for no shows, being told what I can have or being pushed.
It used to be a treat choosing a kitchen or bathroom and people were more often than not professional and courteous.
Now at best they ghost you.
What's the harm in saying they are booked up (did happen once) or it will be six months?
They ask about the job, ask the budget and then poof!

@Dinoteeth exactly this , only now are apprentices being seen as important again, trouble is a lot are retiring now wit not enough in the middle age group to train apprenticeships
Time we brought it into schools trades to try as well , like how it used to be, not everyone can or wants to go to uni etc

It’s the same here in Portugal with labour and hospitality; a lot of workers from Romania and Bulgaria went back during the pandemic when everything shut down. Then the invasion of Ukraine led another mass exodus.

Here we have the problem of low pay too so people without ties can earn a lot more laying cables in Germany etc. Add in the global hikes in materials costs and the price of any work is stratospheric, that is if you can find anyone to give you a quote.

That's what you get when you think sending half your kids to uni to pursue wanking studies rather than to polytechnic to learn a trade is the way to go.