Construction apprenticeships have plummeted

“We are faced with an ever-increasing skills gap in the construction sector and to address this we need to improve the image of the industry and also encourage more construction employers to train apprentices. Construction apprenticeships have plummeted in the past few years. In 2013 the number completing their construction apprenticeship in England fell to just over 7,000 which is just half the figure for 2009. As the economy continues to recover and construction workloads increase, the CITB predicts that 200,000 new construction jobs will be created over the next five years and 400,000 people are expected to retire over the next five to ten years – so this gives you an idea of the scale of the challenge. But what are the solutions?

“First, we need to improve the image of the construction industry. This can partly be achieved by becoming more professional so our status grows within society. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is doing its bit by inspecting all its members to ensure we only represent the very best builders. Employers also need to get into schools and convince young people and their teachers and career advisers that construction is a worthy sector. It’s not all mud and boots – there is an enormous array of careers to suit all sorts of people. Do you have a local school you regularly visit?

“Secondly, we also need more construction employers to engage in apprenticeship training. It’s no good persuading young people to join our industry if there are too few opportunities made available to them by employers. Not all construction firms train apprentices and this is wrong. Not only are apprentices good for a business’s bottom line but it is our industry’s responsibility – not just the government’s – to ensure we have enough skilled workers to meet the demand for new work. So to all those construction employers out there, are you training an apprentice? If not, why not?

“This week is National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) which is a great opportunity for the construction sector to remind its employers of the benefits of training apprentices. To help mark NAW, the FMB and the Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force will be holding a cross-party meeting with Prospective Parliamentary Candidates (PPCs) today at Tameside College in Ashton-under-Lyne near Manchester where we’ll be discussing some of the key issues surrounding apprenticeships.”