‘Lack of flexibility’ is hampering construction skills agenda

The ongoing concern, however, and one that has not been remedied by the recent announcement, is the lack of flexibility afforded as part of these apprenticeship levies.

Given the challenges of recruiting and retaining professionals in the industry, as well as the ambitious targets for infrastructure and housebuilding, more needs to be done to empower contractors and suppliers to craft apprenticeship training to fulfil a broad range of needs.

Increased expectations for construction

The government is firmly placing construction at the forefront of the economic agenda, utilising housebuilding and infrastructure construction to enable financial growth.

With a target of 1.5 million new homes to be built during this parliamentary term, and with the recent Spending Review allocating money to infrastructure and transport improvements across the country, the construction sector requires a supply of skills and personnel that can accommodate such a volume of projects.

At present, however, that is far from the case.

The recent Construction Workforce Outlook 2025-29 report suggests that an extra 239,300 construction workers will be required by 2029 to meet the expected levels of work in the sector. Yet the same report proclaims that construction employment declined by 2.3% in 2024.

Moreover, a House of Commons report from 2024 has suggested that the skills shortage is directly holding back the delivery of major infrastructure.

In an era where growth of the sector is stagnating, it is more crucial than ever that we tackle the skill shortage urgently.

Solving the wrong issues?

In this light, it is encouraging that the government has identified that work needs to be done to bolster recruitment, particularly of those at a younger age, for work such as carpentry and bricklaying.

The launch of 13 new Level 2 construction courses that cater to adults is also certainly welcomed when many of these crucial skills for the industry are in short supply.

But refocusing funding away from Level 7 apprenticeships is solving a problem that wasn’t there.

At Sir Robert McAlpine, we have been successfully utilising some of our apprenticeship levy to support the development of our future leaders, through our partnership with Cranfield School of Management.

We also have a very active Emerging Talent programme, supporting young adults through the first steps of their professional careers.

The problem is that year after year, tier one contractors are left with surplus levy that goes unused due to restrictions imposed by the current framework and resulting red tape.

Closing the option for business to draw down on the levy to fund Level 7 apprenticeships to support their aspiring leaders won’t solve this issue; it will simply make it worse.

Adapting to industry needs

What would benefit the industry is far greater flexibility.

By offering businesses the ability to craft where they should spend their levy and develop courses they feel will most benefit potential apprentices, the sector would be in a far better position to meet the skills shortage. 

Furthermore, allowing for shorter, more condensed apprenticeships will allow people the flexibility to confidently follow the apprenticeship route.

The greater agility of these shorter training periods on more relevant and timely topics, such as teaching skills in digital construction or AI rather than lengthy academic courses, will ultimately help facilitate greater recruitment and retention and provide training that upskills people in their day-to-day roles.

Reform to recruitment and training in the sector is timely and necessary, and it is positive to see steps being taken to address the issue.

We will now have to wait and see whether the government heeds calls and consults with the industry committees, and adjusts to be more flexible, ultimately empowering the construction industry’s ambitions for a more skilled workforce.

Antony Childs is head of people operations and development at Sir Robert McAlpine.