The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has called on north west construction firms to help tackle the skills shortage in the industry by helping vulnerable people get back into work.

It has been predicted that the UK construction industry will create around 190,000 new jobs by the end of 2018, with fears that there will not be the talent to fill them. RICS has urged businesses to provide routes into employment for young homeless through training-led programmes, adapting their working practices and specialist ‘back-to work’ schemes.

Lynn Robinson, RICS' regional director, said: “We appreciate that a lack of a stable and settled home makes it extremely difficult to find and maintain employment. With this in mind, we have launched an anti-homeless campaign known as ‘A Home for Cathy’which will see us calling on the wider property sectors - as well as the government and advocates for change - to pledge their support for our campaign which aims to provide solutions and commit to actions to deliver more affordable homes."