Day December 3, 2025

I'm going to be honest: Budget 2025's introduction of a 3p-per-mile tax on electric vehicles has left me deeply disappointed. Not because I don't understand the Treasury's revenue problem. Fuel duty brings in £25 billion annually and that's evaporating as EVs replace petrol cars. I get it. But introducing a tax structure that the government's own forecaster (the OBR) says will deter 440,000 EV sales by 2031 directly contradicts everything we've been told about reaching net zero by 2050. Here's what frustrates me most: just last year, the government updated the EAS 2024 requirements to mandate that all registered electricians demonstrate competence in EV charging, solar PV, and battery storage by October 2026.

We searched three major UK job boards (Indeed, Reed, and Totaljobs) to measure real-time demand for five core construction trades. The results weren't subtle. Electricians: 3,983 live vacancies Carpenters: 2,819 vacancies Heating Engineers/Plumbers: 2,666 vacancies Multi-Trade Operatives: 931 vacancies Bricklayers: 342 vacancies. On Totaljobs alone, electrician roles outnumbered bricklaying positions by more than 15 to 1 (1,727 vs 110). Across all three platforms, electricians represent the single largest skills shortage in UK construction trades, with nearly 4,000 employers actively recruiting. This isn't a temporary blip. The gap reflects structural changes in the UK construction sector driven by Net Zero policies, electrification, and regulatory tightening around electrical competence. Meanwhile, housebuilding has slowed, directly hitting demand for traditional trades like bricklaying.