Sourcing the apprentices

16 Jul 09
NIGEL DONOHUE | Public sector organisations can help construction firms take on more trainees and avoid potential shortages in the future

Public sector organisations can help construction firms take on more trainees and avoid potential shortages in the future

As the economic climate has deteriorated, it has become more difficult for businesses in the UK to retain their apprentices and continue to invest in qualifying the workforce.
But for construction in particular, there is a real need to retain and recruit trainees so the next generation of workers is not lost. The sector has been beset by skills shortages since the 1990s recession when many employers slashed their training budgets.

To achieve this aim, construction employers will need the active support of public sector organisations. They form the industry’s largest client base and provide a vital revenue stream this year due to the £7bn of infrastructure building work.

The 1990s economic slump had a profound impact on the level of skilled workers in the UK’s construction industry. In fact, between 1990 and 1993, the total number of trainees in the sector fell from around 41,500 to 29,300 – a drop of almost 30%.

There was also a huge decrease in workers aged under 20 – the young apprentices. Between 1990 and 1993, the number dropped from around 170,000 to around 86,000 – by far
the biggest percentage decline of any age group.

Worryingly for the future, the number of young trainees who have been laid off during this downturn has risen sharply since the start of 2009. For this reason, and to help ensure that the industry has the skills to cope with the expected upturn in demand for services from 2011, ConstructionSkills – the skills council for the sector – aims to give public sector organisations the opportunity to help attract and retain apprentices.

In April 2009, the Office of Government Commerce published new procurement guidelines for public sector construction projects, which stipulate that businesses that use apprentices can be prioritised for publicly funded work. Legislation in England and Scotland gives local authorities a general ‘wellbeing’ power and allows public sector purchasers to regard training requirements as part of procurement processes.

New Communities and Local Government Secretary John Denham has also urged local authorities to consider the wider social and economic benefits when they engage in a large-scale procurement. He singled out apprenticeships as an area that could benefit from thoughtful public sector commissioning.

This means that the public sector has an excellent opportunity to specify that some form of training commitment must be made to win contracts, which could include the use of apprentices.

Public sector bodies have an immediate opportunity to provide, or to arrange, placements for ‘at risk’ apprentices to complete their training. This can be through both direct
labour organisations, which are employed to repair and maintain publicly owned property, and the private firms that carry out construction work on behalf of local and central authorities.

As there has been a shortage of employers willing to take on apprentices for some years now, there is also a crucial need to create new training opportunities wherever we can. To achieve this goal, ConstructionSkills is developing new training models to encourage firms of all sizes to take on apprentices.

This includes the Group Training Association scheme, which has been launched predominantly for small and medium-sized enterprises. It allows a collection of employers or clients to act as one organisation and share the responsibilities of training apprentices.

Public sector bodies can set up their own GTA, involving their contracted suppliers. This ensures that selected businesses do not have to commit to the full financial outlay of training an apprentice, but can share this cost with other firms.

The UK’s construction industry contributes around 8% of the UK’s gross domestic product. To keep it competitive, and to avoid future skills shortages, the public sector must retain and recruit apprentices any way it can.

Nigel Donohue  is apprenticeship programme manager for the Sector Skills Council, Construction Skills

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