ConstructionSkills welcomes Government commitment to apprenticeships

ConstructionSkills has welcomed the re-allocation of £150 million to fund 50,000 more apprenticeship places for SMEs, as Parliament resumed today with the Queen’s Speech – outlining Government reforms designed to “reduce the structural deficit” and “return the economy to growth.”

Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of ConstructionSkills said: “We are pleased that the Government has prioritised the funding of apprenticeship places to improve Britain’s growth and ensure people are given the best opportunity to access skills and training. Apprenticeships are the lifeblood of this industry and we must ensure we are creating enough opportunities for young people - and that businesses are willing and able to invest in them."

“The announcement of 50,000 new SME apprenticeship places goes beyond the 20,000 previously announced and is a welcome boost for the UK construction industry – which contributes 8% of total UK GDP, but which has been battered by the recession.”

"Construction is the most efficient industry for the public sector to invest in, with every £1 spent generating £2.84 in wider economic benefit. However, the recession has changed the industry, which now needs direct Government support to recover and deliver broader economic growth."

Mark Farrar continued: “We understand Government’s priority is in tackling the deficit, but it will also be a key task of Government to ensure public sector investment in key construction based projects is sustained until the private sector picks up – and it is only by maintaining capital investment in Britain’s infrastructure that we will prevent significant job losses in the sector."

“It is this workforce who will be the key driver of future recovery and the Government’s recent commitments on social housing and the new ‘Green Deal’ for households announced in today’s Queen’s Speech are welcome news in support of jobs."

“ConstructionSkills has been at the heart of skills and training for over 40 years and we are uniquely positioned to help government deliver a simple, cost-effective and demand-led skills system, for both employers and individuals, that will help pull us out of recession and into a new era of growth.”

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For more information about this release please contact Ian Woodcroft,  ian.woodcroft@cskills.org  0300 456 5409

www.cskills.org

About ConstructionSkills

ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the construction industry. As a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, CIC and CITB Northern Ireland, we are UK-wide and represent the whole industry from professional consultancies to major contractors and SMEs.

Established as an SSC in 2003, ConstructionSkills is working to deliver a safe, professional and fully qualified construction workforce through the industry’s Sector Skills Agreement. We are responsible for raising employer engagement in training, implementing industry-led skills solutions, securing appropriate funding, producing labour market data, and developing standards and qualifications that meet employer needs.

ConstructionSkills is a well run and high performing Sector Skills Council, supporting a sector which is central to the UK economy, generating over 8% of GDP and a turnover of more than £210bn a year. ConstructionSkills is helping construction employers through the downturn and working to maintain skills so the industry can respond when the upturn begins.

For more information on Government’s recent policy announcements:

‘Green Deal’ for householders – more information can be found in the Coalition document “Our Programme for Government,” HM Government and on the No.10 website  

Social Housing commitment – more information can be found in the HM Treasury Press Notice PN 04/10 “Government announces £6.4 billion of savings in 2010-11.”