Homes group cannot find enough workers

Not enough workers can be found in Wolverhampton to take on construction jobs on the city's council properties, despite rising unemployment in the city.

Wolverhampton Homes says it is frustrated in its ambition to recruit skilled local workers, including builders, electricians and carpenters.

The organisation, in charge of the city's council house stock, has plenty of work on offer over the next three years as part of its £388 million Decent Homes programme, but it is being forced to look further afield.

There has been a lack of applicants from within Wolverhampton.

Lesley Roberts, the group's chief executive, said it "would be difficult" to keep to its target of more than 30 per cent of workers being from the city.

Under the Decent Homes programme more than 20,000 council homes are getting refurbishment work.

The majority of the workers who have found employment on the scheme come from outside the city boundaries.

Last week the numbers out of work in the UK soared past the two million mark – in Wolverhampton it was up 938 to 10,248, 7.1 per cent of the working population with only Sandwell faring worse in the Black Country.

At the moment, just below 30 per cent of all the workers involved with Decent Homes are from Wolverhampton.

Mrs Roberts said: "I am totally on board with the ambition of employing as many local workers as possible, but we have to be realistic. Our contractors need established workers."

The comments have drawn criticism from some city councillors. Labour councillor Louise Miles, who represents Bilston East, said: "It's very disconcerting, and worrying, to hear comments like this."

Three contractors involved in the scheme, Bullock, Frank Haslam Milan and Thomas Vale, all take on 30 apprentices each year to work on Decent Homes.