The National House-Building Council (NCBC) has allocated 拢100m to opening an additional 12 construction training centres over the next four years while the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has earmarked 拢40m of levy money to backing up to another 20 training centres, if suitable industry partners come 聽forward.
The CITB has three construction colleges 鈥� in Bircham Newton (Norfolk), Erith (Kent) and Inchinnan (Renfrew).聽 It had been trying to sell them and get out of direct delivery, but performed a U-turn in 2021. [See previous report here.] Whether 20 more CITB colleges actually emerge in the next five years with the board's 拢40m is up to "the market" to make it happen, it says 鈥� young people need to be prepared to apply and employers need to be prepared to offer places.
But if plans do work out, there could be an additional 5,000 more construction apprenticeship places a year available by September 2028, with 3,000 of those going through the 12 new NHBC training centres.
Currently, the construction industry takes on approximately 25,000 apprentices a year, with a drop-out rate of 47%. An average of 70,000 workers a year have left the construction industry over the past five years.
The new training centres are promising to produce fully qualified construction workers 鈥� bricklayers, roofers, plasterers, scaffolders, electricians, carpenters and more 鈥� in just 12 to 18 months, which is half the time of the traditional 24-to-30-month construction apprenticeship. A spokesperson for the Department for Education said that the same quality of output could be achieved by 鈥渇ast-tracking鈥�. The CITB said that training duration could now be safely condensed thanks to the development of 鈥渃ompetence frameworks鈥� and 鈥渟tandardisation鈥�.
NHBC already has four training centres 鈥� in Cambridge, Newcastle, Hull and Tamworth 鈥� already offering qualifications in 15 months.
Roger Morton, director of NHBC鈥檚 training hubs, said: 鈥淥ur intensive training will produce skilled tradespeople faster, equipping them to hit the ground running from day one.鈥�
The government is supporting the plans, albeit not with actual money. A government press release hailed the NHBC and CITB apprenticeship drive as an example of it 鈥済etting Britain building again鈥�.
Skills minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, said: 鈥淭his government is committed to 1.5 million homes being built across this parliament, while breaking down barriers to opportunity by fixing our broken skills system. If we are to meet this ambitious target and fix the foundations of our economy, we need to ensure we have a skilled workforce, and give more apprentices a foot on the career ladder. The need to boost our country鈥檚 skills is crucial to our mission-driven government, and I am pleased that this initiative will give apprentices skills to seize opportunity.鈥�
Others smell hype.
David Crosthwaite, chief economist at the Building Cost Information Service, said: 鈥淥n the face of it, the increase in available construction apprenticeships seems like a positive move, although it will take some time to make a material difference on-site.
聽鈥淚ndeed, halving the time taken to become 鈥榝ully qualified鈥� may reduce the dropout rate, which is particularly high in construction apprenticeships.
聽鈥淗owever, one has to ask, how can what once took twice as long, now be delivered in half-the time? Are there going to be quality issues as a result of shortening the training period?
鈥淚n terms of the numbers, 5,000 apprenticeships a year will not be enough to cover those expected to retire/leave the industry annually, so at best, this is not adding additional workers to an industry that has seen close to 350,000 leave the sector over the last five years.
聽鈥淚n my opinion, this initiative will not have a major impact on the realisation of 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, as promised by the government.鈥�
NHBC鈥檚 Roger Morton preferred to accentuate the positive. 鈥淲ith funding support through the apprenticeship levy and generous grants, I鈥檇 say to builders and contractors, there鈥檚 never been a better time to invest in apprentices. It鈥檚 an opportunity to grow your workforce while offering talented people a rewarding and well-paid career in this essential industry,鈥� he said.
CITB chief executive Tim Balcon said: 鈥淚t is clear that we need to rethink how we train our workforce and be much more agile in our approach. We have worked closely with the homebuilding industry and government to develop a programme that is focussed on equipping individuals with the skills they need to be productive on site, in the most efficient way. This is truly a collaborative approach and one we are very excited about.
鈥淭his investment to launch 32 homebuilding skills hubs will help meet the homebuilding targets while flattening peaks in demand for construction skills on homebuilding across the country.鈥�
The apprentices certainly seem to approve of the shorter training courses.
Ben Thorburn, a 23-year-old bricklaying apprentice from Histon in Cambridgeshire with GSQ Brickwork from the existing NHBC training centre in Cambridge, said: 鈥�Training with NHBC means I鈥檓 gaining the best industry recognised qualification quickly. It鈥檚 only going to take me 15 months to complete my apprenticeship. That鈥檚 half the time of other further education options. That鈥檚 crucial when you have financial responsibilities like I do. I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to afford the time otherwise.
鈥淣贬叠颁鈥檚 training hubs also have a big appeal for the subcontractor I work for because I鈥檓 on site faster and fully qualified to industry-leading standards. My company can build a team of skilled tradespeople, quickly. Alongside the support of the apprenticeship levy builders can get, the new hubs mean it鈥檚 a win-win for everyone.鈥�
Tegan Pryor, 22 from Shefford in Bedfordshire and also an apprentice at the NHBC training hub in Cambridge, said she had struggled to find a bricklaying apprenticeship: 鈥淲e need more houses, but we also need more small and medium-sized builders to take on apprentices. I was really surprised by how difficult it was to secure an apprenticeship, as there simply weren鈥檛 enough opportunities in the house-building industry and competition was fierce for the few available spots. Eventually, I secured an apprenticeship with Redrow and with NHBC鈥檚 training, I鈥檒l qualify in just 15 months. Soon I鈥檒l be out on site earning a great wage and knowing exactly what to expect as I鈥檝e been trained in real site conditions聽 by NHBC鈥檚 expert trainers.鈥�
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