The creation of 7,000 new construction apprenticeships was announced this week, with the aim of stemming the skills shortage in the industry.
Skills secretary, John Denham, highlighted plans to ensure that government-funded building projects were used to encourage construction firms to employ more apprentices. The commitment should see upwards of 7,000 new apprenticeships in construction over the next three years.
The plan is boosted by the recent decision to bring forward capital spending to help the economy recover from the downturn. This year, government departments and their agencies will spend more than £7bn on construction projects, including roads, schools, colleges and hospitals.
Brian Smith, president of the County Surveyors’ Society, said: ‘The CSS has been concerned about skills issues across the sector, especially given its current age profile. ‘We therefore welcome the announcement of new apprenticeships and believe this is important not only in the current economic situation, but is a vital, long-term investment in the sector’s capacity to deliver.’
Andy Morris, spokesman for the Technical Advisors’ Group, said: ‘This initiative should go a long way to ensuring that we have the right skills and resources to enable the construction industry to respond quickly and positively when the economy picks up.’
ConstructionSkills welcomed the move, but warned it would be a tough challenge in today’s economic environment without some added incentives to firms which provided this training.
Mark Farrar, chief executive, said there was a ‘double challenge’ to tackle as existing apprentices, who have been made redundant, need to be re-placed alongside new recruits.
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