Apprenticeship reforms needs to meet Yorkshire's homebuilding challenge: James Farr

And just this week, it emerged that sites where tens of thousands of homes could be built over the next 20 years had been put forward by landowners in North Yorkshire, where the local authority has been given an annual house-building target of 4,077 houses from the Government - more than triple the previous figure.

There is much to be excited by, but the sector faces a pressing need for new talent as home-building targets rise and demand for infrastructure grows.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) predicts that construction output across the region should rise by 2.2 per cent a year between now and 2028, with more than 5,300 extra workers annually will be required to meet expected growth in Yorkshire and the Humber region.

In an ageing workforce, there is therefore a pressing need to maintain a talent pipeline with new workers and future leaders entering the industry.

Connecting education with employment

Encouragingly, data shows young people are increasingly choosing construction-focused college courses.

But there is a significant issue: apprenticeships, a key route into many construction careers, are not growing in tandem with this interest.

Construction apprenticeship starts in the region fell by 7 per cent in 2023/24, following a double-digit percentage decline the year before.

According to DfE data, between 2022/23 and 2023/24, there was a rise of over 20 per cent in the number of learning aim enrolments in construction by 16 to 18-year-olds living in our region.

But there was a fall in construction apprenticeship starts of 7 per cent and the number of level 2 construction apprenticeships, often undertaken by young people leaving school or college, dipped by 14 per cent.

The recent announcement that apprentices aged 19 and above will no longer be required to pass English and maths functional skills courses has been welcomed by some. But this risks driving apprenticeship starts for young people under-19 (who must still meet this requirement) even lower by incentivising providers and employers to focus on over-19s.

Why is this significant? Apprenticeships rather than college-based courses represent the main route into construction careers. In all but a few trades, gaining competency in an occupation - be it a carpenter, plumber, or electrician – requires learning on the job via an apprenticeship.

College courses should serve as a supply line for apprenticeships, but DfE data indicates that, for young people who completed a level 2 or vocational level 3 construction course (usually in college), only 20-25% moved into ‘employment with learning’ (likely to be an apprenticeship) in the six months after completing courses.

A quarter had ‘no positive destination’ (not in sustained work or training) while 35 to 40 per cent moved into ‘employment only’ (a job without training) with retail, administration and hospitality the most common sectors of employment while barely one in 10 entered ‘employment only’ in the construction sector.

Bridging the industry’s talent gap

There is a way to fix this - by clearly connecting education and training provision so more students move from college course to apprenticeship. Data suggests this is not happening as often as it should.

Government should be explicit that apprenticeships are a key route into construction and college courses should act as feeders for this. Better monitoring of learner destinations by sector and occupation will further help.

More work needs to be done to develop ‘accelerated apprenticeships’, whereby progression into is planned into the college course from the start.

This means the duration of the apprenticeship can reduce to recognise a learner’s prior knowledge and skills gained in college.

We know from our work in this area that employers welcome such programmes because young people begin apprenticeships with skills and reach full competence more quickly.

For apprenticeships to flourish, more support is required for employers, especially small ones, who say they find them costly and burdensome. This dampens demand for apprentices and reduces opportunities for those keen to pursue a construction career.

The CITB has a vital role to play here. Working with the further education sector, it can play a larger role in supporting employers, offering expertise and reducing the administrative load associated with managing apprenticeships. By easing pressure on employers, the CITB can increase the number of apprenticeship opportunities.

The opportunity to expand apprenticeships in construction is here. But, alongside reform, we need clear, unwavering commitment from Government, further education providers and employers to create a system fit for the future of the Yorkshire’s built environment and those young people eager to contribute to it.

The opportunity to support growth by investing in infrastructure, creating vibrant places, and providing clean energy is before us. Connecting young people to those is an essential part of meeting those ambitions.

James Farr is director of post-16 skills and education consultancy Think