Sector - Education & Training

Next gen of construction workers to build housing promise

8 Apr 25

The Chancellor has announced £600M worth of investment to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers.

This will deliver well paid jobs across the country in the construction sector and help build 1.5 million homes to transform communities by the end of this Parliament.

Chancellor, Rachel Reeves said: “We are determined to get Britain building again, that’s why we are taking on the blockers to build 1.5 million new homes and rebuild our roads, rail and energy infrastructure.

“But none of this is possible without the engineers, brickies, sparkies, and chippies to actually get the work done, which we are facing a massive shortage of. We’ve overhauled the planning system that is holding this country back, now we are gripping the lack of skilled construction workers, delivering on our Plan for Change to boost jobs and growth for working people.”

A skills shortage has been hanging over the sector for a number of years, the latest Office for National Statistics figures show that there are over 35,000 job vacancies and employers report that over half of vacancies can’t be filled due to a lack of required skills – the highest rate of any sector. Demand is expected to increase further to deliver the homes and infrastructure that this country needs.

Funding and reforms announced today will pay for more training places, ensure a sustainable flow of skilled construction workers and help businesses invest more in training. It will encourage the men and women who have spent decades working on building sites, to pass on their skills to the next generation of construction workers.

Building the skilled workforce of the future is key to driving economic growth, the central mission of the government’s Plan for Change. These construction jobs are the type of secure, well paid, in demand jobs that will help put more money in working people’s pockets and fuel growth.

Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The Chancellor has followed up her push for planning reform with considerable new funding to train more construction apprentices, demonstrating her understanding that without business certainty and high-quality training, new learners will struggle not only to be trained, but most importantly, to be retained.

As SMEs train 73% of construction apprentices, the Chancellor now needs MHCLG, DEFRA. DESNZ, DfT, and DBT to support her ambitions. These departments must work together to ensure that SMEs, the trainers and retainers, are able to win pipelines of work so they can afford to take on apprentices, support their growth and establish meaningful careers.”

Nikki Davis, CEO & Principal of Leeds College of Building: “We welcome the announcement made by the Chancellor that £600 worth of investment is being made available to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers. Without this, government priorities such as house building, retrofit, or mass transit would likely be stalled.

“Construction employs 2.15 million people, but more than a third are now over 50 years old. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that there are over 35,000 job vacancies in the industry, with many due to a lack of required skills – the highest rate of any sector. Demand is only expected to increase further.

FE colleges, such as Leeds College of Building, are instrumental in meeting these training demands, and we are ready to meet the challenge. Although we are doing much already with limited resources, we urgently need this funding to tackle critical shortages and ensure a skills bottleneck is averted.”

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