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.

"We are looking at how we can bring back skill sets developed by Indians overseas," Rajiv Singh, vice-chairman of DLF, said in an interview with the Financial Times. "Our desire is to have a very highly motivated and trained labour force come back and work for us."

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India faces a shortage of experienced professionals in industries ranging from the booming information technology outsourcing sector to the domestic financial sector. But this is now spreading to manual jobs, particularly in the construction industry as the country embarks on an unprecedented building boom. The government estimates India needs to invest about $500bn (Euro 340bn, �244bn) on infrastructure in the next five years in power plants, roads, ports and airports.

Economists say the shortage of semi-skilled workers in a country with a population of more than 1bn shows the government is failing to do its part to upgrade basic education to produce more workers employable in modern industry.

This is becoming increasingly vital if the country is to realise the so-called "demographic dividend" - the expected boost to economic growth that comes from having a population of which more than half are under 25 years old.

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"Everyone talks about this demographic dividend in India, which is a valid point, but you need to make sure the people coming out are able to do something useful and not become a deadweight on the economy," said Rajeev Malik, economist at JPMorgan in Singapore.

DLF has plans to build 750m sq ft of retail, commercial and office space in the coming years, triple the amount it has built in its previous six decades of existence.To try to attract overseas workers to return home, DLF is promising to pay them close to what they earn overseas and has begun building hundreds of temporary barracks to house labourers and their families near its construction sites in India.

These come with security, kitchens and cr�ches for children - facilities previously unheard of at most Indian construction companies, which usually leave their workers to fend for themselves in squalid labour camps that are little better than slums.

The improved conditions, coupled with better safety at work sites, could prove a powerful lure for workers in the Gulf, thousands of whom recently clashed with police in Dubai after striking over wages and conditions.

DLF's construction joint venture, DLF Laing O'Rourke, already employs professionals - engineers and other graduates - who have returned from the Gulf.

"If you want money, working abroad is better, but if you want to be with your family, it's better to be in India," said Imran Ahmad, a science graduate who has returned to Delhi after working on Dubai International Airport.

A semi-skilled worker earns about Rs12,000 ($300) a month in the Middle East, about double the level in India.

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