EU Installers & Tradespeople

EU installers and tradespeople form a large, predominantly male manual workforce concentrated in small and micro enterprises across the construction and specialist installation sectors. Labour shortages in EU construction reached nearly three times the level observed a decade ago by 2023, underscoring acute skills and recruitment pressure across the sector, while around 960,000 enterprises operated in the EU buildings construction segment alone in 2022. Training access and digital upskilling remain uneven, with the European Working Conditions Survey 2024 noting that more workers are gaining skills at work but significant challenges persist, particularly around fair wages and job transitions.