The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) are to develop a National Skills Academy for Construction as the region faces a projected shortfall of more than 3,800 construction workers a year over the next five years.
The two organisations have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the academy, in one of the first partnerships formed through CITB’s national initiative to create a more connected construction skills system across England.
The partnership aims to bring together employers, training providers, local decision-makers and government to improve workforce planning and ensure training provision reflects the skills that construction businesses need.
CITB estimates that the West Midlands will need to recruit more than 3,800 additional workers each year for the next five years to meet anticipated demand.
The initiative will also allow the WMCA to use live data from construction sites across the region to identify emerging skills gaps and inform training provision.
The move follows the WMCA’s announcement last year of a £75m investment in construction skills and training over three years, aimed at addressing an expected shortage of around 12,000 workers.
West Midlands construction boom
West Midlands mayor Richard Parker said the region was “heading into a construction boom” driven by investment in housing, infrastructure and regeneration.
“Working with the CITB and local employers in this way” would help tackle the industry’s skills shortage and prepare the workforce for future growth, he said.
CITB chief executive Tim Balcon said collaboration between industry, government and local authorities was essential to addressing construction’s skills needs.
“This is the latest strategic partnership we’re establishing with mayoralties across the country,” he said, adding that it would strengthen relationships between employers, training providers and local decision-makers.
The West Midlands agreement follows a similar partnership between CITB and Liverpool City Region, which is addressing an estimated shortfall of 9,000 construction workers and supporting skills planning for housing, retrofit and infrastructure projects.
The announcement comes as the West Midlands increases its investment in construction and regeneration. Last week, Parker opened a new Skills Centre at Coventry’s £450m City Centre South regeneration scheme, being delivered by Hill Group.
The centre is intended to provide local people with training and routes into construction careers while supporting the project’s workforce needs.
Hill Group founder and group chief executive Andy Hill said the industry could only deliver the homes and regeneration projects communities need if it had the skilled workforce to build them.
The new CITB-WMCA partnership, he added, would help create more routes into construction and ensure local people could benefit from investment taking place across the region.
