The government has announced that housebuilding and skills are to be developed side by side thanks to new skills hubs.
With £150 million of industry investment, the government will wok with the Construction Industry Training Board and the National House-Building Council to launch 32 new Homebuilding Skills Hubs. These will help with the rapid delivery of skills training in areas that need more housing, whilst also ensuring that apprentices get the vital skills needed to achieve the government’s mission for growth.
The hubs will give apprentices a ‘realistic working environment’ for key construction trades, with the apprenticeships being delivered in 12-18 months – roughly half the time of a traditional course. This will not only mean that more high-skilled workers can get into jobs, but also that additional housing can be delivered quicker.
Skills England will be part of the process as well, with the organisation’s expertise being used to identify the areas that need more construction workers the most. Some of the trades that will be trained through the hubs include:
- Bricklayers
- Roofers
- Plasterers
- Scaffolders
- Electricians
- Carpenters
Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills, 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.”
This comes as the Skills Minister hosted a roundtable earlier this week with a number of other Ministers, to establish how government departments can collaborate to reach shared government goals. Attendants of the roundtable included Minister for Industry Sarah Jones, and Social Security and Disability Minister Stephen Timms.
Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook, who was in attendance at the roundtable, also commented:
“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.”
The government is aiming for all 32 of the hubs to have been launched by 2028, as its aims to deliver 1.5 million homes by over the course of this parliament.
Image credit: iStock
