India’s largest listed developer, DLF, is planning to lure thousands of Indian construction workers home from the Middle East, in a sign the country’s acute skills shortages are spreading from the professional to the lower end of the labour market.

The developer is looking to recruit a contractor workforce of 20,000-25,000 people consisting of Indian semi-skilled workers and tradesmen, such as carpenters, electricians and others, from construction companies in Dubai and other areas of the Middle East.