A mismatch between the number of young people studying construction at college and apprenticeship opportunities needs fixing to enable the construction sector to support Government growth ambitions, according to skills specialists Think.
The post-16 education and training consultancy is calling for action to fix a ‘misfiring’ apprenticeship system which is critically important to the construction sector.
Following the start of National Apprenticeship Week, which started on Monday, February 10, Think say a Government pledge to focus apprenticeship spending on young people represents an opportunity to revitalise the number of the apprentices who will provide vital skills for the construction sector.
Think has warned of a potential missed opportunity as data shows a rise in popularity of college-based construction courses has failed to trigger an increase in apprenticeships which are key to entry into the national construction sector.
And as a potential way to reverse a worrying decline, skills systems experts Think are recommending new measures to encourage young people on completion of course to embark on apprenticeships.
It comes at a time when the construction sector faces a skills shortage, with estimates predicting that the industry will need more than 250,000 extra workers by 2028 to meet infrastructure demands and house-building targets.
James Farr, Think director, said: “It is encouraging that the rising number of young people embarking on construction-focused college course shows there is a healthy interest in a sector that needs new talent to replace its ageing workforce.
“But that growth in construction sector interest among learners isn’t being reflected in any increase in apprenticeships which is a significant issue because for the majority of construction trades an apprenticeship which is the main route into the job.
“While there is a challenge there is also an opportunity to ideally convert that rising interest in construction as a course choice and career choice among young people into growth in apprenticeships.
“There is a definite risk of a missed opportunity unless we convert this healthy interest among young people into increased numbers of them going into apprenticeships in a sector that is going to be critically important to the UK as a whole going forward.”
According to DfE data, between 2022/23 and 2023/24, there was a 12% rise in the number of learning aim enrolments in construction by 16 to 19-year-olds nationally while for 19 to 24-year-olds, the rise was 20%.
But there was a 0.4% fall in apprenticeship starts and the number of level 2 construction apprenticeships, which are often undertaken by young people leaving school or college, went down by 9%.
James added: “The data explodes the myth that there isn’t a healthy interest in the construction industry among young people.
“It’s in everyone’s interest to increase in the number of particularly young people going into sector because we will all badly need their skills, but the fact apprenticeships are misfiring really is a concern.”
“We welcome Government’s commitment to growing apprenticeship opportunities for young people, but change is needed to help more young people get a route in to careers in critically important sectors, such as construction.
“While we recognise there will be no overnight solutions, Think believes that Government needs to be clear that progressing into apprenticeships should be the goal when a young person starts a college course, to support their move into the construction sector.
“And Government has to be clear in policy and funding terms that apprenticeships represent the primary route into construction in the vast majority of cases and college courses need to be feeders. At the moment, there is little recognition of that in either funding or policy terms and that needs to be put right.”
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About Think: Think is a team of UK skills system experts who develop strategies which improve workforce performance to support clients’ growth ambitions.
Working with further education providers, universities, businesses and public bodies, the team provides policy expertise, programme and strategy support to improve the post-16 and post-18 experience for thousands of learners and their employers.
Clients include Henley Business School, Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Manchester City Council, employer networks, colleges and universities.
More information at https://think.uk.com/