AS THE nation takes an Easter break to mark the crucifixion and resurection of a carpenter, Kent is facing up to a construction skills crisis.

Plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters and other craftspeople are thin on the ground. Further education colleges are struggling to turn out enough skilled young people.

Apprenticeships are back but not delivering enough people with the appropriate skills. These acute shortages come at a time when the county has a soaring demand for skilled people, especially in the construction industry.

Who will build the 31,000 homes in Ashford and tens of thousands more in the Kent Thames Gateway? The situation will be even more severe as Terminal Five at Heathrow sucks in more construction workers.

If London wins the 2012 Olympic Games, there will be an insatiable demand for even more to construct venues, athlete villages and transport infrastructure. Kent’s construction projects could well be held back by these higher profile contracts.

This is the background to Construct Kent Thameside, an initiative to develop and train local young people in essential skills. They will not all be brickies. Some of the housing components will be pre-fabricated, requiring different skills in manufacture and installation.

A local factory is vital if the flood of imported pre-fabricated units from China is to be stemmed, further eroding the local skills base.

Employers will benefit from this scheme, young people will benefit, and the wider community will benefit from more affordable housing and the greater supply of local skilled labour.

If it fails, the crisis will only be solved - in part - by attracting overseas workers to the county. Construction workers are in abundance in Eastern Europe. Many are already in the UK.

This week, the Government unveiled a White Paper on training. More and better workplace training is vital to close the productivity gap with competitors. But it will require a change of culture among young people, their parents and employers.

Skills development is the number one priority in Kent. Failure to tackle it will jeopardise the county’s otherwise bright economic prospects.