The report, backed by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), is a result of a cross-party inquiry led by former construction minister Nick Raynsford MP and Lord Richard Best.
Mr Raynsford said: “Construction apprenticeships have plummeted in the past few years. For 2013 the number completing their construction apprenticeship in England fell to 7,280, just half the figure for 2008/09. They are pathetically dismal figures.”
Lord Richard Best, a former head of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: “A concerted effort is needed, led by the major firms and by those who procure construction contracts, to ensure young people brought up in the UK can take advantage of the growing number of jobs in construction.
“Without sufficient skilled home grown staff, employers are once again looking to import labour from other countries – particularly from Eastern Europe. This is not in the longer term interests of either the industry or the country.”
Their report is called No More Lost Generations: Creating Construction Jobs for Young People. It makes several recommendations, including:
- There should be a ‘high-level summit’ to get some impetus and make something happen
- The CITB should spearhead a new apprenticeship strategy
- Public sector clients should include training as a contract condition for construction projects
- There should be better careers guidance in schools.
CIOB deputy chief executive Michael Brown said: “During the course of the inquiry we saw excellent examples of not for profit and commercial organisations preparing young people for work and proving them with construction skills. The issue we have is one of scale. We need creative leadership to take current best practice and make it available across the industry.”
The full report can be seen at www.ciob.org/youth-unemployment-inquiry.
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