Six contractors offer route to new ‘degree apprenticeship’ and MCIOB

Around 80 school-leavers or recent entrants to the industry will start earning-and-learning on a new two-part, six-year “trailblazer” apprenticeship leading to an honours degree and professional status – without the student debt.

The 80 will be recruited to five streams: construction management, civil engineering, building services engineering, design coordination, and quantity surveying.

The courses have been developed, respectively, with the CIOB, ICE, CIBSE, CIAT and RICS.

The new training option is offered by a consortium led by Balfour Beatty, which intends to recruit 35 young people to the course, made up of a three-year Higher Apprenticeship leading to an HNC followed by a three year “degree apprenticeship”.

The other places on offer will be shared between BAM Construct, Galliford Try, Carillion, Lend Lease and Willmott Dixon.

Tony Ellender, emerging talent development manager for Balfour Beatty Construction Services, told CM: “It’s a degree without the debt burden and with professional membership – it will qualify you for full chartered membership of the CIOB.

“We want to encourage school leavers to apply for the [minimum] six-year course, but if you already have three years’ experience and an HNC, or you’ve completed the equivalent in terms of experience and prior learning, you could perhaps start the degree level apprenticeship – we want to encourage both routes.

“We think this offers a great alternative to new entrants to the industry. At Balfour Beatty, we’d like to see if this can replace the current part-time degree routes.”

Six further education colleges and six universities have been confirmed as training partners for the new qualification.

Under the post-Richard Review “trailblazers”, employers define the training standards and also have direct access to government funding that was previously channelled via training organisations or third parties such as the CITB.

Ellender said that the mechanism for distributing funding – as with all Trailblazers apprenticeships – was still to be clarified. There has been speculation it could be distributed via training vouchers that can be “spent” at colleges and universities.

In National Apprenticeship Week, Balfour Beatty has also announced 150 new apprenticeship vacancies – last year it pledged 50 places and took on around 75.

The increase is part of its commitment to the 5% Club – an initiative that commits signatories to have 5% of their workforce in apprenticeships or graduate training programmes within five years of joining.

Balfour Beatty joined the initiative in December 2013, shortly after it was set up by defence company Qinetiq. “It was a lovely coincidence,” says Ellender, referring Leo Quinn’s transfer from the chief executive role at Qinetiq to Balfour Beatty.

The Tier 1 contractor now also hopes that the 7,000 companies in its supply chain will also join the 5% Club, saying that there is CITB support available for those that do.

“The good thing about the 5% Club is that it gives you a target and an aspiration, but ultimately there’s five years to get there,” Ellender said.

With 17,000 UK staff, Balfour Beatty currently has 350 apprentices in training, and aims to recruit 150 graduates this year.