The government has published its Construction Jobs Plan, setting out how it will work with industry to tackle skills shortages and build the workforce needed to deliver its housing, infrastructure and clean energy ambitions.
The plan supports an industry ambition to create 100,000 job opportunities a year by the end of this Parliament. It forms part of the government’s wider Industrial Strategy and is backed by an additional £625m Construction Skills Package to increase training provision, support new entrants and help more learners into employment.
The construction sector currently employs around 2.2 million people in the UK. The government plans to deliver 1.5 million homes, invest £725bn in infrastructure over 10 years and upgrade five million existing buildings, creating significant demand for skilled workers.
The Construction Jobs Plan aims to bring government and industry together to better align training and employment opportunities with the sector’s needs.
Measures include 40,000 industry placements each year for eligible construction learners aged 16 and over at Level 2 and Level 3, funding for up to 10,000 new construction-focused Foundation Apprenticeships and 35,000 additional construction-focused Skills Bootcamp places.
10 commitments
Industry has also agreed to 10 commitments to address workforce and skills challenges. These include developing sector-specific skills plans, improving strategic workforce planning, strengthening good employment practices and exploring use of artificial intelligence and industrialised construction to improve productivity.
The plan emphasises local and regional delivery, with employers, local leaders and training providers expected to work together to respond to local skills needs. Sector skills plans will feed into regional, devolved, mayoral and local systems, while Local Skills Improvement Plans will bring businesses, educators and other stakeholders together to identify priorities.
Minister for reindustrialisation Blair McDougall said: “We have an ambitious programme to build 1.5 million homes and invest £725bn in Britain’s infrastructure, but we need the skilled workers to deliver it.
“By bringing government and industry together, this plan will provide 40,000 construction placements every year and support the industry’s ambition to create 100,000 job opportunities a year by the end of this Parliament, giving more young people the chance to build a good career while helping to reindustrialise Britain.”
Mark Reynolds CBE, co-chair of the Construction Skills Mission Board and executive chairman of Mace Construct, said the plan marked “a major milestone” in efforts by government and industry to support job creation and growth.
“If the industry is to grow at the rate it needs to support the government’s ambitions on infrastructure delivery, housebuilding and wider economic growth, we must have better data on skills needs, more joined-up policy development and implementation and a truly integrated network of employers, potential recruits and training provision,” he said.
“The jobs plan provides the foundation for those improvements.”
‘A positive step forward’
Alex Vaughan, chief executive of Costain, said the UK’s infrastructure pipeline needed sufficient workforce capacity to support it.
“The Construction Jobs Plan is a positive step towards creating a long-term system-wide approach to sustainable skills development and job creation, key drivers to greater economic prosperity for the UK,” he said.
“With business leaders, educators and policymakers working together to ensure training and qualification routes match real-world demand, we can prevent the infrastructure pipeline becoming a pipe dream.”
Mark Farmer, Construction Leadership Council industry sponsor for people and skills and founder of Cast Consultancy, welcomed the plan’s recognition of sector-specific skills needs.
“Different parts of our highly fragmented industry face distinct workforce challenges, and these plans provide an important opportunity for industry to define its own needs, take greater ownership of solutions and translate national ambition into meaningful action on the ground,” he said.
Farmer added that the test would be whether the plan’s commitments could be translated into tangible outcomes, with the CLC set to help mobilise industry to support implementation.
