Britain is so short of brickies that builders are having to hire them from Portugal to get jobs done.

And because the government and industry have failed to invest in apprenticeships, firms are having to turn down contracts on offer, according to a study carried out by employment group Manpower.

Its findings are backed up by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and by construction workers union Ucatt, which also condemned employers for failing to invest in apprenticeships.

Ucatt general secretary Steve Murphy said: “Skills shortages are a direct result of the industry failing to invest in the future. The entire mindset of the construction industry is focused on maximising short-term profits.

“The construction industry goes to great lengths not to employ workers directly and in that environment it is unsurprising that companies are not prepared to invest in apprentices, the workers of the future.”

He said the government, as the construction industry’s biggest customer, should force firms to run apprenticeships as part of their contracts.

“Rather than asking the industry to change its ways and train apprentices, they should be forcing them to do so,” said Mr Murphy.

Federation of Master Builders chief executive Brian Berry highlighted its own state of trade survey that showed 41 per cent of small and medium construction firms are struggling to hire bricklayers, up from 34 per cent three months earlier.

Commenting on the Manpower study, Mr Berry said: “This research is a timely reminder that government must put the right framework in place to encourage construction employers to train more apprentices.

“To make matters worse, we are still unsure what action government is taking in terms of its apprenticeship funding reforms, an issue which has been rumbling on for more than two years.”

The government is planning to cut apprenticeship funding.

Mr Berry said: “If the recently appointed Skills Minister implements the apprenticeship funding reforms as proposed, they will greatly detract from the ability and desire of small firms to train apprentices.

“As two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by micro-businesses — the very smallest of firms — this is very worrying indeed.”