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The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is setting up a commission of industry leaders to develop a new apprenticeship strategy for the industry.
The commission will make recommendations on ways the industry can significantly increase the number of apprentices in the system while maintaining the level of training demanded by the firms employing them.
The announcement follows chancellor, George Osborne’s budget commitment to provide an additional £170m for small businesses to support more than 100,000 new apprenticeship places in the next two years.
CITB chairman James Wates said: “We face a perfect storm. Construction is set to lose 400,000 workers to retirement in the next five years and, over the same period; we are set to create 182,000 jobs. With the economy picking up, we have a superb opportunity to appeal to a new generation of construction workers and to train them for a rewarding career in construction.”
He said that the needs of employers had changed during the recession. “To compete globally, we need to ensure that our apprentices are skilled and trained to their full potential,” he said. “It’s the right time to deliver a new apprenticeship strategy for construction. It will drive greater employer commitment to apprenticeships and ensure that we provide solutions to government to help get Britain’s young people back to work.”
The CITB is now in the process of persuading industry movers and shakers to serve on its apprentice commission> It is aiming to publish its new strategy by the end of the year.
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