{"id":514497,"date":"2025-02-14T12:55:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T12:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/?p=514497"},"modified":"2025-02-14T12:55:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T12:55:53","slug":"citb-says-threefold-increase-in-apprenticeship-starts-needed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.constructionnews.co.uk\/skills\/citb-says-threefold-increase-in-apprenticeship-starts-needed-14-02-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"CITB says threefold increase in apprenticeship starts needed\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has said the number of people starting construction apprenticeships needs to triple to plug labour shortages.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a report, the CITB says that the 2023\/24 education year saw 33,000 construction apprenticeship starts, an improvement since the pandemic but still \u201ca long way short of what we need\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

It adds: \u201cWe estimate that apprenticeship starts would need to increase two or three times on present levels to fulfil recruitment needs \u2013 even taking other routes into industry into account.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The CITB says 50,000 additional workers will be needed in each of the next five years to meet additional construction demand, but adds that the sector is also suffering from \u201cgreater numbers of older workers retiring, who need to be replaced\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also points out that only half of people who start an apprenticeship in construction go on to pass their final assessment and receive a qualification.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile [apprenticeship] starts must increase, achievements must also rise significantly in England,\u201d the report states.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile some apprentices who do not reach their end point assessment will eventually enter the construction workforce, many more won\u2019t. And the longer it is before people join the workforce, the greater the likelihood is that they will need to refresh their skills.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The report also reveals that just 21 per cent of construction firms employ an apprentice, and just 10 per cent have more than one. It urges: \u201cWe must motivate, incentivise and support smaller companies to take on apprentices.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark Farmer, whose<\/span> review of the CITB<\/span><\/a> was published last month,<\/span> told <\/span>Construction News <\/span><\/i>in an exclusive interview<\/span><\/a>: \u201cThere\u2019s a whole cohort of kids every year that are doing post-16 further education courses in construction-related qualifications, and very few of them, for whatever reason, end up in the industry or in qualified employment.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo there is an attrition issue that I\u2019ve tried to highlight in the report. A lot of people in the industry are aware of this, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s publicised enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cKids that actually are pretty close to our industry at age 16, who have got the propensity to think of construction as a career, are not managing to get into paid employment with a traineeship, apprenticeship, whatever it might be. There\u2019s massive attrition. It\u2019s as much as 60 or 70 per cent.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking on BBC Radio 4\u2019s <\/span>Today<\/span><\/i> programme,<\/span> Mace<\/span><\/a> chairman Mark Reynolds said the government had a role to play in providing a construction pipeline and incentivising companies to invest in skills.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have that pipeline there but we have a leakage at the moment,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMany people go through full-time education [with the intention of] joining the industry, but half of them don\u2019t actually get a job at the end of it. And that\u2019s because employers don\u2019t have confidence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reynolds conceded that the \u201cindustry needs to do more in this area\u201d as well, saying that he had \u201cspoken to several CEOs of large organisations like Mace and there is a reluctance [to take on apprentices]\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He said the government should target the construction of four million homes in the next five years \u2014 rather than its goal of 1.5 million homes \u2014 saying it would \u201cdefinitely\u201d be achievable if a pipeline was created through land, planning and building regulation approvals.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has said the number of people starting construction apprenticeships needs to triple to plug labour shortages.\u00a0 In a report, the CITB says that the 2023\/24 education year saw 33,000 construction apprenticeship starts, an improvement since the pandemic but still \u201ca long way short of what we need\u201d. It adds: …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90383,"featured_media":483162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[565,575],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n