The government has announced plans to create an additional 5,000 construction apprenticeship places each year. To achieve this, thirty-two new Homebuilding Skills Hubs will be established across the country, providing fast-track skills training to apprentices in various trades, including roofers, bricklayers, plasterers, scaffolders, electricians, and carpenters.
Purpose Built Hubs
These purpose-built hubs will offer a realistic working environment for training, and the government is working closely with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National House-Building Council (NHBC) to launch them. The initiative also involves collaborating with Skills England to identify areas with the greatest need for construction workers, ensuring that employers have access to high-quality apprenticeship training. This, in turn, aims to kickstart growth and create new job opportunities.
Fast Track Apprenticeships
The fast-track apprenticeships offered by the hubs can be completed in just 12-18 months, which is significantly shorter than the traditional 24-30-month construction apprenticeship. Roger Morton, Director of Business Change and NHBC's Training Hubs, commented on the initiative, saying, "Our £100 million investment in a national network of 12 NHBC Multi-Skills Training Hubs will train quality apprentices and help shape the future of UK house building. Our expert facilities will revolutionize the industry, starting with training in critical areas such as bricklaying, groundwork, and site carpentry."
Morton continued, "NHBC's hubs are designed to be flexible, adapting to local housing needs and regulatory changes. Our intensive training will produce skilled tradespeople faster, equipping them to hit the ground running from day one. At NHBC, our mission is to ensure every apprentice meets our high standards, delivering quality new homes that the UK urgently needs. With funding support through the Apprenticeship Levy and generous grants, I'd say to builders and contractors, there's never been a better time to invest in apprentices. It's an opportunity to grow your workforce while offering talented people a rewarding and well-paid career in this essential industry."
CITB Welcomes the Initiative
Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of CITB, also welcomed the initiative, saying, "It is clear that we need to rethink how we train our workforce and be more agile in our approach. This investment to launch 32 Homebuilding Skills Hubs will help meet the homebuilding targets while addressing peaks in demand for construction skills on homebuilding across the country." All 32 training hubs are scheduled to be launched by 2028 and will be located in areas with the greatest homebuilding need.
Concerns about Quality
However, not everyone is optimistic about the initiative's potential impact. Dr. David Crosthwaite, Chief Economist at BCIS, noted, "On the surface, the increase in available construction apprenticeships seems like a positive move, although it will take some time to make a material difference on-site. Indeed, halving the time taken to become 'fully qualified' may reduce the dropout rate, which is particularly high in construction apprenticeships."
Crosthwaite also expressed concerns about the potential quality issues that may arise from shortening the training period, saying, "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?" Additionally, he pointed out that the 5,000 apprenticeships a year may not be enough to cover the number of workers expected to retire or leave the industry annually, which could limit the initiative's overall impact.
