Construction at the heart of economic revival

After months of political pinball and uncertainty, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition was formed last week, to form a stable Government, in the public interest, but what does this mean for our industry? CITB-ConstructionSkills’ Chief Executive, Mark Farrar reviews:

“Construction is crucial to the success of our economic revival. That’s why it’s important that the new Government continues to support construction so that we can make sure that the industry increases its productivity and contributes to the economic recovery.

As the Sector Skills Council and Industry Training Board for the sector, we have been working with employers for over 40 years to make sure that our industry has the right skills in the right place at the right time. But, the recession has changed our industry, and we need to enlist Government support to help us recover so that we can continue to support construction, ensuring a stability of contract funding which will help underpin the many jobs and skills involved, at a time when the industry needs to deliver ever more demanding requirements.

Skills and training are at the heart of the election manifestos of the coalition government, and we look forward to finding out more about the support that will be given to our employers. Over the years, we have made progress in developing skills and helping employers to train, but the recession has had a significant impact on the industry. We know that many workers left the industry during the recession, never to return and we need to address these skills gaps and make sure that we’ve got a fully skilled and sustainable UK construction workforce in place. 

Before the election, the Government pledged to create 20,000 additional places for young apprentices and give SMEs a £2,000 bonus for every apprentice they hire. This is great news for our employers – as we need to make sure that funding is available to support apprenticeships, as the best route into our industry, but we also need to support our existing workforce and provide opportunities for them to learn new skills - so that they can take advantage of new opportunities, such as the retrofitting agenda that the Government is keen to support.

Whilst we understand that tackling the deficit is a priority for the new Government, the success of the construction industry relies on Government support of public sector investment until the private sector picks up. This is so that we can continue to provide employment for the 3 million people who work in the construction industry supply chain.

We also need to support the low carbon agenda and help employers to develop new skills for a new industry.

We’re committed to change, and we’re committed to our industry. As the Industry Training Board and Sector Skills Council, we meet with employers every day, and so we’re looking forward to meeting our new Ministers to put the views of employers forward, and discuss how we can work together to the benefit of our industry and the people who work in it.”  

For more information about this release please contact Michelle Cowley on Michelle.Cowley@cskills.org / 0300 456 5430