Advocating for industry

Our advocacy team is working for UK construction on many fronts, including close collaboration with the government and other partners on careers initiatives, such as GoConstruct, Open Doors  and Pathways into Construction.
Currently, we have four priority areas.

Migration

Leaving the EU is likely to reduce the availability of EU workers to the UK construction industry. Our twin-track strategy to address this involves encouraging government to make provisions for a transition period so employers can continue to draw on migrant labour as needed. At the same time, we are developing an industry-led action plan to reduce skills shortages through upskilling and investment in technology.

Future Skills

Our Digital Skills report (PDF 8.90MB) shows how modern technologies can raise productivity, increase efficiency and help attract people to the sector. To achieve this, we are:

• informing industry about the opportunities of new technologies, such as Building Information Management and immersive learning (PDF 2.38MB) , and supporting them to invest in the future

• collaborating with the Construction Leadership Council on a skills plan to unlock construction’s digital future

• working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and other government departments on digital skills policy, identifying barriers to progress

• focusing on the skills, training and qualifications needed for new technologies, as discussed in our report Faster, Smarter, More Efficient: Building Skills for Offsite Construction (PDF 1.76MB).

Homebuilding

We are working closely with industry on the substantial skills demand to meet government targets of 300,000 new homes each year. We are:

• awarding the £22-million Construction Skills Fund to 26 on-site training hubs to help build homes and infrastructure

• getting more trainee bricklayers into jobs from college, and upskilling experienced bricklayers to increase employability and quality

• joining forces with the Home Builders Federation (HBF)  on a £2.7 million project to pool expertise between more than 40 homebuilders, attracting new entrants and providing focused training

•  helping to fund Barratt Group’s new Regional Academy for Home Building, to increase their apprenticeship starts by 74%

• supporting Persimmon’s Combat to Construction project,  offering a funded route for new entrants to homebuilding from the armed forces

Qualifications reforms

We are:

• leading the Construction Apprenticeships Working Group and working with the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) to design apprenticeship standards that meet industry needs

• co-ordinating the development of  apprenticeship standards

• engaging with the Department for Education and IfA on standards for the new T-Levels

• supporting employers to provide high-quality work placements to help trainees make a smooth transition into employment

• listening to industry to ensure the apprenticeship levy responds to skills needs

Among the many advocacy projects we are involved with, we are:

• linking employers to decision-makers through events such as Scottish Apprenticeship Week and Open Doors

• promoting construction at events, such as traditional building skills demonstrations

•  a member of the Cross-Party Group on Construction  in the Scottish Parliament, informing policy development

• contributing to key discussions and forums, including Scotland’s Construction Sector Inquiry launched by the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee  at the Scottish Parliament

• working with key stakeholders on the Short Life Working Group on Housing Construction Skills, established by the Scottish Government

• providing detailed research and analysis (PDF 747KB) to influencers, thought-leaders and policy units, including on the potential impacts of Brexit on Scottish construction 

We are advocating for industry in a variety of ways, including:

• responding to Welsh Government  consultations with information including labour market intelligence on a range of subjects, such as the economy, transport, housing, procurement, education, skills, the Welsh language and sustainability

• giving evidence directly to Welsh Government committees, such as the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee .

• providing the three Regional Skills Partnerships  in Wales with the evidence they need to support the interests of the construction sector

• helping public sector clients to set meaningful benchmarks for recruitment and training in construction contracts

• influencing Qualifications Wales on the reform of construction qualifications to serve industry better, from GCSEs and A Levels to vocational training

• promoting construction with Careers Wales  so that they can effectively communicate the huge employment opportunities in the sector