The role migrant workers play in reconciling supply and demand of skilled labour in the UK construction industry is scrutinized in this chapter. Given the idiosyncratic, project-based nature of the sector, characterized by the reliance on a mobile, itinerant, and largely self-employed workforce, it is argued that mismatches between supply and demand of skilled workers remain inevitable. Shortcomings in the institutional framework governing skills reproduction in the sector contribute further to this widening chasm. Policy intent of managing just the numerical aspects of supply and demand of skilled labour remains wholly inadequate. Recommendations are therefore made for tighter labour market regulation to ensure equal and fair treatment of workers, development of a comprehensive vocational education and training (VET) system, and a paradigm shift away from current modes of skills reproduction and employment practices towards more sophisticated deployment and development of skills for all workers. © Oxford University Press, 2013.
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