New skills hubs launched to get Britain building

A total of 32 pioneering new Homebuilding Skills Hubs will deliver fast-track  training to local areas that need more housing, while giving apprentices vital skills to boost housebuilding in the UK and drive forward the government’s growth mission.

The purpose-built hubs will provide a realistic working environment for training for key construction trades, including bricklayers, roofers, plasterers, scaffolders, electricians, carpenters and more.

The government is working with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National House-Building Council (NHBC) to launch them.

Working hand in hand with Skills England to identify the areas that need construction workers the most, this will ensure employers and businesses have access to high quality apprenticeship training, kickstarting economic growth and creating jobs across England.

The fast-track apprenticeships offered by the hubs can be completed in 12-18 months, up to half the time of a traditional 24-30-month construction apprenticeship. This means more construction workers can be trained quickly, unlocking economic growth by getting more people into highly skilled jobs.

Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith, said: “This government is committed to 1.5 million homes being built across this parliament, while breaking down barriers to opportunity by fixing our broken skills system.

“If we are to meet this ambitious target and fix the foundations of our economy, we need to ensure we have a skilled workforce, and give more apprentices a foot on the career ladder.

The need to boost our country’s skills is crucial to our mission-driven government, and I am pleased that this initiative will give apprentices skills to seize opportunity.

Earlier this week, Minister for Skills Jacqui Smith hosted a roundtable with MHCLG’s Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP, DBT’s Minister for Industry Sarah Jones MP, and Social Security and Disability Minister Stephen Timms MP from DWP to discuss how government departments can work together with industry to reach our shared goals of more good-quality homes being built.

Today, the Skills Minister will visit students at Oldham College to find out how these hubs will help them to develop their skills.

Minister of State for Housing and Planning Matthew Pennycook said: “A skilled and efficient construction sector is essential to building 1.5 million new homes in this parliament.

“This new funding will help to grow, upskill and diversify the housing workforce and deliver the government’s housebuilding target.”

Roger Morton, Director of Business Change and NHBC’s Training Hubs, commented: “Our £100M 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 shake-up the industry starting with training in critical areas including bricklaying, groundwork and site carpentry.

“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 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.”

Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of CITB, said: “It is clear that we need to rethink how we train our workforce and be much more agile in our approach.

“We have worked closely with the homebuilding industry and government to develop a programme that is focussed on equipping individuals with the skills they need to be productive on site, in the most efficient way. This is truly a collaborative approach and one we are very excited about.

“This investment to launch 32 Homebuilding Skills Hubs will help meet the homebuilding targets while flattening peaks in demand for construction skills on homebuilding across the country.”

Dr David Crosthwaite, chief economist at BCIS, responded: ““On the face of it, 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.

“However, 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?

“In terms of the numbers, 5,000 apprenticeships a year will not be enough to cover those expected to retire/leave the industry annually, so at best, this is not adding additional workers to an industry that has seen close to 350,000 leave the sector over the last five years.

“In my opinion, this initiative will not have a major impact on the realisation of 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, as promised by the government.”

Up to 32 training hubs will be set up across the country in the areas with the greatest homebuilding need, with all hubs scheduled to have launched by 2028.

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