A third of construction firms put off taking on apprentices

A new report from The Federation of Master Builders, “Defusing the skills time bomb”, has revealed that a third of construction companies are put off taking on apprenticeships due to the level of bureaucracy involved.

The construction industry is currently grappling a skill shortage with the ability of the sector to sustain growth and play a key role in the UK’s economy under threat if the shortfall is not addressed.

The government has a set a target of creating three million new apprenticeships across all business sectors over the course of this Parliament.

In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne, outlined details of the Apprenticeship Levy that is envisaged will raise enough funding for these apprenticeships.

The cost of employing and training an apprentice was also a major concern for employers, as was the difficulty in predicting future workloads.

Employers were also concerned about the being able to retain apprentices upon completion of their training and also attracting a candidate of sufficient quality.

The FMB has made a number of recommendations to the government that include increasing the number of apprenticeships through public sector contracts that stipulate a proportionate level of apprenticeship training as part of the agreed contract and to seek evidence that this been done upon completion.

Further recommendations call for the improvement of funding available to older apprenticeships and also for funds from the Apprenticeship Levy to be channelled back to Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and ring-fenced specifically for the training of apprentices.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Our research shows that 94% of small construction firms want to train apprentices but a third are being turned off by a number of serious “fear factors”. These include the cost of employing and training an apprentice and major concerns regarding the complexity of the process.

“There is strong evidence to show that small construction firms need better information and that if they were more aware of the support that’s available, a great number would train apprentices. Just under 80% of non-recruiters are not aware of one of the most important apprenticeship grants available to them and just over 75% say knowledge of financial support would make them more likely to take on apprentices.

“Given that two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, it is critical that the Government does everything in its power to remove any barriers that might be stopping these companies from training. Looking ahead, the Government’s new apprenticeship voucher could be a disaster for small firms unless it is properly road tested and made as simple and easy-to-use as possible.

“We’re also calling on the Government to protect our industry training board which is at risk from the new Apprenticeship Levy. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) needs reform admittedly but without it the very smallest firms would be left with less financial and practical support for apprenticeship training – remove this lifeline and you risk worsening the skills crisis.”

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