People on plumbing courses could see a huge improvement in their employment prospects if the government introduces a reduced rate of VAT.
This is the view of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), which has called on the new coalition administration to resist the temptation to introduce an increase on the tax.
Richard Diment, director general of the FMB, said that while hiking VAT rates would make it easier for unscrupulous rogue traders to operate, slashing the tax would help to stimulate growth for the construction sector.
He underlined this suggestion with an estimate that reducing VAT to five per cent for housing repair, maintenance and improvement labour would create more than 55,000 jobs in one year.
Mr Diment said: "This can only be good news for the economy as it faces the threat of a double dip recession."
This comes after the FMB suggested earlier this month that the number of construction jobs in the UK could be set to rise, due to more householders wishing to retrofit their homes with energy-efficient improvements.
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