Actis has welcomed the confirmation of a £625m investment in training 60,000 construction workers to help reach housebuilding targets.
According to a company statement, the funding, which was confirmed in the recent spring statement, is a vital component of the government’s plan to deliver 1.5m new homes during the course of the current parliament.
Actis said it has long championed the need to encourage more people to consider careers in the construction industry, with its own youth outreach programmes playing a part in instilling passion for a range of construction-focused careers.
The company added that it has been concerned about dwindling numbers, with a recent Checkatrade report revealing that the UK needs another 1.3m skilled workers and 350,000 apprentices.
Mark Cooper, Actis UK and Ireland sales director, said the heavyweight investment is vital if the UK is to achieve its housebuilding goals while ensuring all homes are thermally efficient and of high quality.
He explained: “The need for a solid investment in training the next generation of construction professionals has long been recognised within the industry. But there are of course other hurdles to overcome in order to meet the housing targets – planning reform, land availability, affordability, infrastructure issues and local sentiment.”
The funding will see £100m invested in creating ten new technical excellence colleges, and £165m used to enable existing colleges to expand the number of construction courses they offer.
A further £100m will enable Skills Bootcamps to expand within the sector, offering opportunities for returners, new recruits or those wishing to upskill.
Foundation apprenticeships launching this summer are set to benefit from a £40m injection, £20m will facilitate partnerships between construction colleges and industry, boosting the number of teachers with construction experience via the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and employers will receive £2,000 apiece for recruiting and training apprentices.
Mark said he believes offsite-constructed homes will be an important part of the housing mix. They can be built up to 30% more quickly than traditional brick and block, he noted, enabling developers to deliver homes at a faster rate and using fewer man hours per unit.
Mark continued: “In addition to the benefit of build speed, quality is far better controlled, and the homes can be thermally superb.
“Elements such as wiring, plumbing and insulation take place offsite and our Hybrid and Eolis HC systems take between 25 and 50% less time to install than traditional alternatives, which contributes to the speed of the overall process. A typical on-site build time is then between seven and 12 days.”
