Placing Apprenticeships at the Heart of the Construction Skills Agenda

Following the government announcing a £600m investment in construction skills training, Melanie Nicholson, Managing Director of leading apprenticeship and work-based learning provider Total People, says the government is right to put apprenticeship and skills training at the heart of its construction skills mission but calls for it to provide more detail on how the funding will be delivered.

Over the last few weeks there has been a series of announcements from the government which demonstrate that it sees apprenticeship and skills development as having a critical role in addressing skills gaps and powering its growth agenda. This week’s announcement from the Treasury, which committed to providing £600m of funding for construction skills to provide “up to 60,000 more engineers, brickies, sparkies, and chippies to be trained by 2029”, can only be described as positive.

In making its announcement ahead of the Spring Statement, the Treasury identified construction as one of the key sectors for new foundation apprenticeships backed by an additional £40 million. As part of this new offer, which will be launching in August 2025, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry, on top of the training costs being fully funded through the new Growth and Skills Levy.

The Treasury also confirmed that an additional £100 million of government funding, alongside a £32 million contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), will fund over 40,000 industry placements each year for all Level 2 and Level 3 learners, those studying NVQs, BTECs, T-levels, and advanced apprenticeships. This will help get learners ‘site-ready’ and address the ‘leaky pipeline’ of learners who don’t progress into the sector.

The commitment from the Treasury effectively places apprenticeships and skills training at the heart of addressing the skills gaps in the construction sector and gives them a vital role in ensuring that the sector has access to the talent it will require to meet the government’s growth ambitions. This is underpinned by the commitment to provide employers who take on a foundation apprentice with £2,000.

At a time where public spending is under significant pressure, a package worth £600m over four years to support 60,000 people into construction job has to be welcomed. It reflects the big increase in construction sector jobs needed to build the homes and infrastructure which the government is aiming for.

However, while the announcement is another positive signal of intent to place apprenticeships and skills at the heart of addressing the construction skills gap, the statement is lacking in detail, not least around how the funding will be utilised and delivered. What’s more, it remains to be seen whether the incentives for employers will be persuasive enough to encourage the construction sector to hire and train new apprentices.

A Compelling Incentive?

Foundation Apprenticeships, which are an introduction into a sector and role, are planned to be more of a general apprenticeship and should lead to learners progressing onto a more specialist trade apprenticeship pathway. This raises the question of whether the £2,000 will be sufficient to entice employers to sign up for what amounts to a medium-term commitment. There is also a lack of clarity as to at what point in the learner journey employers will be eligible for the £2,000 payment, which may create a further barrier to achieving the desired uptake within the sector. If that incentive is not attractive enough to employers, it is hard to envisage it being an effective lever in addressing the construction skills gap.

Lack of detail, lack of clarity

This lack of detail also casts a shadow on the £100m commitment to fund over 40,000 industry placements each year for all Level 2 and Level 3 learners, studying NVQs, BTECs, T-levels, and advanced apprenticeships, as there is a lack of clarity around how this will be delivered to providers and employers – which makes it impossible to fully analyse the impact this will have on the sector. It is crucial that announcements such as these come with the details so that both training providers and employers alike can properly assess how effective any new funding will be in addressing skills gaps, particularly in the construction sector.

However, it is important not to lose sight of the bigger picture. The announcement demonstrates that the Chancellor recognises that spending on skills is an investment, not a cost. And it recognises that the commitment from employers in the construction industry is crucial if we are to turbocharge teacher recruitment, training and curriculum development. Most importantly, it shows the faith that the government has in expert training providers such as Total People to help make its ambitions a reality. It is now up to providers to demonstrate that we are ready to play our part.

By Melanie Nicholson is Managing Director of Total People, part of LTE Group