Major investment in apprenticeships needed if the UK is to deliver Green Plan

@BorisJohnson’s 10-point Green Plan will require major investment in trade skills and apprenticeships right now if the UK is to deliver it, says HomeServe Foundation (@HSV_Foundation)

PM’s £12billion ‘green industrial revolution’ could see gas boilers banned from all new-build homes and replaced by low carbon alternatives in the next three years

Bold new plans could create 250,000 jobs – but a big investment in training and apprenticeships for a new wave of skilled tradespeople is desperately needed right now, says HomeServe Foundation

The HomeServe Foundation is urging the Government to use part of its £12billion investment in a new ‘green industrial revolution’, announced by PM Boris Johnson this week, to step up opportunities for more trade skills training and apprenticeships.

The not-for-profit arm of leading home repairs company HomeServe Plc says the PM’s bold new 10-step climate action plan, which could see gas boilers banned from all new-build homes and replaced by low carbon alternatives within the next three years, will require a swathe of new trade talent in order to fulfil demand and help the Government to achieve its bold targets.

There is already a looming gap in trade skills in the UK – a gap which could be exacerbated by the UK’s forthcoming Brexit split from the EU – which is why the HomeServe Foundation is urging the Government to act swiftly to tackle the challenge.

“With Brexit imminent, a dramatic decrease in apprenticeships* and ever-increasing demand for skilled tradespeople, we are facing a genuine inflection point,” said Helen Booth, director of the HomeServe Foundation. “To achieve this bold, new vision from Government more needs to be done, and it needs to happen now.

“We need to remove the barriers and red tape that are stopping SMEs and trade businesses from investing in training and apprenticeships, and we need much better incentives to encourage them to make the commitment to growth and investment.”

In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement this week, in 2019 the UK was the first major economy to pass the net zero emissions law, requiring the country to reduce all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

In September this year, the Government also announced the £2billion ‘Green Homes Grant’ to help homeowners cover the costs of energy efficiency installations such as electric heating, heat pumps and district heat networks. Recent studies show around five in every six homeowners who have applied for the grant have been unable to find installers to undertake this work so far. 

The HomeServe Foundation is raising this with Government and continuing to work closely with the National Apprenticeship Service, as well as actively lobbying with other agencies and partners to gain more support for apprenticeships in the trades sector, which will play a crucial role in UK plc’s economic recovery and revival. 

*Apprenticeship starts in the Construction, Planning and the Built Environment are down 56% year-on-year.