This month’s podcast begins with CIOB chief executive Dr Victoria Hills’ reaction to learning about long waiting lists for construction courses.
“Who has fallen asleep at the wheel?” she asks, at a time when there are a million young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs).
Hills said she would convene a conversation with college heads and related associations to “get to the bottom of what’s going on” and make recommendations to government.
On the plus side, she said, Andy Burnham’s push for more devolution could help ease the skills crisis and shrink college waiting lists.
Joining the podcast are Manchester enthusiasts Steve Gillingham, partner and executive board member at Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB), and Stuart Sayer, in charge of the North West for Turner & Townsend.
They set out how Greater Manchester’s 30-year devolution journey has helped their firms skill up.
Also joining are Emma Meredith, director of skills policy and global engagement for the Association of Colleges (AoC), and Claire Barker, AoC’s senior policy manager for skills and industry.
AoC data show that 56% of colleges in England report waiting lists for construction courses, the highest instance of waiting lists among all courses.
Meredith and Barker update us on the pressure colleges are under, new government funding for construction, and the many ways construction employers can collaborate with colleges.
