With 750,000 construction workers due to retire in the next 15 years, the UK may be unable to meet net zero targets, according to IPPR A letter has been sent by a group of leading construction industry figures and organisations calling on the Chancellor to support the sector to get the green skills it needs to play a leading role in the green recovery and the drive to net zero. From building major infrastructure projects that stem the tide of carbon emissions to improving the energy efficiency of homes, the sector is essential to this vital national project to tackle the climate crisis and restore nature, the group’s letter says. The letter warns that the UK’s failing skills system, that isn’t even meeting existing skills needs, threatens to delay the ability of the UK to deliver a zero-carbon economy. The group of industry leaders call on the government to consider proposals developed independently by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank. In a new report, the think tank warns that up to 750,000 construction workers could retire or be on the verge of retiring over the next 15 years and not enough is being done to replace those workers, with just 20 per cent of construction workers currently aged under 30. The letter is signed by leading industry figures including Mark Reynolds, the CEO of Mace Group, along with industry bodies including The Federation of Master Builders, The Chartered Institute of Builders, British Property Federation and the Construction Industry Training Board. The letter signatories are listed in the notes below. Together the group argues that initiatives to boost the number of workers with green skills in the infrastructure sector are hamstrung by a lack of coordination among firms, and a lack of leadership in government. They argue that investment in a green recovery can create thousands of new construction jobs on projects essential for ‘building back better’. However, to seize this opportunity, the government must bring forward legislation and regulatory powers to ensure skills gaps can be filled. The IPPR proposals recommended by the industry leaders in the letter include: Increasing funding for further education and expanding apprenticeships, as well creating a new National Infrastructure and Construction Skills Demand Pipeline at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority. Ensuring investment in skills is accounted for in budgets for government-funded infrastructure projects. Legislating to improve pay and conditions for workers in the sector, to make construction careers more attractive to jobseekers. The letter also recognises that the construction sector must itself make substantial changes to achieve the shared ambition of transforming the economy and reaching net zero by 2050. Previous research by the IPPR think tank’s Environmental Justice Commission found that government investment to meet net zero and restore nature could create up to 1.6 million green and clean jobs. Mark Farmer, letter signatory and author of the 2016 government commissioned Farmer Review of the construction labour model, said: “We need to start moving from rhetoric to action in the pursuit of net zero. This has to be about building a legacy that can deliver not just a strong economic recovery, but also a fundamental shift in climate change trajectory and the societal benefits generated from green infrastructure. “I was commissioned by the government in 2016 to explain the skills crisis facing the construction sector, and how we can solve it. Over the past five years we have made progress on the recommendations of the Farmer Review. However, it is clear from the findings of IPPR’s research, that action is still needed. We need to invest in the skills system, and to go even further in making the rules of the game clear to firms in our industry. “How the Treasury Green Book and Construction Playbook is operationalised in central government will determine whether we can really ‘build back better’ and maximise the opportunities of green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.” Oscar Watkins, IPPR construction sector lead, said: “We cannot build back better without the builders. As this letter from industry leaders and organisations demonstrates, the construction sector wants to be at the heart of the UK’s drive to net zero emissions and a low carbon economy but recognises it does not yet have the skills it will need to do this. “In addition to the steps the industry says it will take to meet this challenge, departments across government need to come together and direct investment where it is needed most, to unlock the full potential of businesses in the sector. The government’s procurement system also needs to be made more adept at recognising and meeting skills needs. “It is essential that the construction sector has a pipeline of skilled and motivated people coming through the system into the sector to make the green transition possible.”

London South Bank University (LSBU) is marking National Apprenticeship Week 2021 by celebrating coming second out of all leading higher education apprenticeship providers in England. LSBU has retained second place overall for the past three years as one of the leading higher education apprenticeship providers in England according to apprenticeship provider data collated by the Department for Education. The University is expanding its apprenticeship offering further this year. South Bank Colleges, part of the LSBU Group of local educational institutions, will offer apprenticeships in engineering and healthcare, from September 2021. These apprenticeships will focus on delivering levels 2 and 3 to young applicants. As the sponsor University, LSBU’s role will be to ensure these apprenticeships are high quality and meet the needs of both employers and apprentices; LSBU currently offers a variety of apprenticeships with employer sponsors, across a range of sectors – from building services, engineering and chartered planning to nursing, screen skills, rail engineering, technical acoustics and digital marketing. The University’s top six apprenticeship categories in 2020 were: Surveying (Building and Quantity Surveying) – 543 apprentices; Health and Social Care – 484 apprentices (including 200 Nursing Associates); Building Services- 314 apprentices; Planning- 139 apprentices; Architecture – 116 apprentices; Digital Marketing – 49 apprentices. In 2020 LSBU introduced six construction standards at levels 4 and 6. LSBU became the first English university to launch levels 5 and 6 apprenticeships in Rail and Rail Systems Engineering, working with employers such as Network Rail, Transport for London, WSP and Siemens. Lauren Smithers, 22 years-old, currently a second-year (BA) Digital Marketing trainee in LSBU’s Business School, on a Digital Marketer apprenticeship with Pearson Plc, said: “I was searching for jobs online and came across an apprenticeship. Once I started to look into it further, I knew it was the route for me as I struggled with being in education full-time.. “I needed more hands-on experience, as I tend to learn best while doing something practical. I applied for the job online, then had a phone and face to face interview with a recruitment company, before an assessment day with the hiring company. “During lockdown LSBU made themselves available to help out at all hours, which has been fantastic for me due to an increased workload. They work really closely with my employer to make sure I have everything I need to complete this apprenticeship successfully.” Sammy Shummo, Group Director of Apprenticeships at LSBU, said: “In spite of immense challenges posed to UK employers by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, LSBU has succeeded in holding onto a position in the top three higher education apprenticeship providers in England. The University is also on track to have over 2000 apprentices enrolled by early 2021. “As LSBU Group embarks on its strategy for next year we look forward to working with employers, local communities and stakeholders to have 10,000 apprentices enrolled with the Group by 2025. “LSBU is proud to be supporting apprentices from all backgrounds with over half identifying as BAME, 11% having declared a disability and around 10% from the most deprived parts of the country. Our apprentices distinguished themselves last year by winning numerous awards in the fields of Civil Engineering, Construction and Architecture.”

GRAHAM has welcomed the “next generation of talent” to its Civil Engineering Graduate Programme. An official launch day, hosted virtually at the end of last year, signalled the start of the structured two-year programme for 22 new recruits who recently graduated from a variety of leading universities spread across the UK. They were selected from a strong pool of over 300 applicants. Due to the lockdown restrictions, this year’s event was hosted online, with the interactive session providing the graduates with an insight into how they can fast track their careers with one of the UK’s leading civil engineering contractors. The graduate scheme is a mix of technical, personal, and management style development. Each of the participants will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from their degree courses on a range of GRAHAM’s most high-profile civil engineering projects, including Crossrail station upgrades for Network Rail, Northern Ireland Water, the Port of Dundee, and major improvement works for Highways England. GRAHAM Managing Director – Civil Engineering, Leo Martin, believes nurturing talent has been key to GRAHAM’s strong growth. He said: “Every year, it is a privilege for me to introduce the next generation of talent to our civil engineering division and to equip them with the tools to grow and become future leaders at GRAHAM. “Of course, we have faced considerable challenges presented by the pandemic over the past year, but I was more determined than ever to recruit a similar number of graduates as we normally do. And Covid-19 has not knocked us off course in this regard. That also goes for the content and delivery of the programme, which will be as engaging, practically-based, and interactive as always. “As one of the first companies in the UK to be accredited Platinum by Investors in People, we believe that nurturing and investing in the next generation of talent is crucial for the long-term success and sustainability of GRAHAM. That is why I am committed to giving young people opportunities, especially when so many avenues to employment are being closed to them. I am looking forward to working with, and learning from, this talented batch of graduates now and into the future.” The Civil Engineering Graduate Programme is part of the GRAHAM Academy, which is an in-house world-class training and development centre. It offers a range of graduate programmes, industrial and undergraduate placements, part-time university study, apprenticeships, work experience, and trainee opportunities. Since 2015, the GRAHAM Academy has seen more than 120 graduates successfully through its programme. GRAHAM are proud members of the Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Programme, an industry –wide initiative that aims to make workplaces better for everyone. For more information, please visit: www.graham.co.uk/careers

HS2 Ltd, Highways England, Network Rail and Transport for London have joined forces in encouraging small and medium sized businesses to register for free training courses, designed to  improve their prospects of meeting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) supply chain requirements and help them secure future contract opportunities. Working in partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School, the four transport bodies want to make it easier for companies to demonstrate their commitment to the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) agenda.  The Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Programme has been developed for the construction industry to provide an industry context to the EDI agenda. The Supply Chain Sustainability School is recognised as a leading training provider and has supported SMEs with accessing free training since 2012.  Through the FIR programme they have supported over 2,000 businesses, helping them to improve their understanding of Fairness, Inclusion and Respect, and its importance in the workplace. All four organisations outline good practice standards and requirements expected from suppliers to win work. Collectively, the four bodies are now supporting UK businesses to get ‘contract ready’ by providing access to a consistent source of training. This removes the requirement for businesses to complete numerous training and assessment programmes to satisfy multiple clients. The CITB have funded the FIR Programme for five years, but with the economic impact of COVID they had to reduce funding for this financial year, which meant the FIR programme faced challenges in sustaining its full offer of training.  HS2 Ltd, Highways England, Network Rail and Transport for London stepped in to support the FIR programme, to ensure SMEs can continue to access courses free of charge to support their long-term growth prospects and maintain consistency in the UK’s pipeline of infrastructure programmes. Mark Lomas, Head of EDI at HS2 Ltd said; “We’re passionate about improving EDI and FIRs outcomes right across our supply chain. A project the size, scale and longevity of HS2 offers a unique opportunity to deliver measured improvements that can improve people’s working lives and career prospects. We’re proud to be supporting this initiative and hope to see many SMEs registering to take part.” Malcolm Dare, Executive Director of Commercial and Procurement at Highways England, said: “We are delighted to be working closely with HS2, Network Rail and TfL and the Supply Chain Sustainability School to grow our supply chains’ EDI capability and resilience.  We are committed to this agenda and are looking to bring positive and lasting change by delivering meaningful social impact and value through this work.” Loraine Martins, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Network Rail said: “The opportunity to collaborate with Highways England, HS2 and TfL to support our respective and often shared supply chains, so that we are building diversity and inclusion confidence and practices within our sector, was too important to miss.  The more that we can spread best practice and raise standards together, the more beneficial to our collective workforces. We’re pleased to be able to support the Supply Chain Sustainability School in this way and to further our shared ambition to have a more diverse and inclusive working environment.” Staynton Brown, Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Talent at Transport for London, said: “Creating a truly diverse and inclusive culture within our sector brings many benefits in delivering a transport network that reflects the communities it serves. This starts with educating and influencing the biases and behaviours of those who work within our industry. “We are proud to working with the transport industry to continue our support for these free courses that the Fairness, Inclusion and Respect programme provides. This training will help our critical UK-wide supply chain partners improve upon the great work many are already doing. This will help to continue to drive down barriers and ensure working in transport infrastructure projects is truly accessible to all.” Businesses can access free online EDI/FIR training pathways at www.supplychainschool.co.uk/fir which cover the following topics: FIR e-learning: Recruiting People, Fairly and Inclusively FIR e-learning: Managing Challenging Conversations The Business Case for Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Monitoring & Reporting Workplace Diversity FIR in Procurement and Supply Chain Management Understanding Unconscious bias Mental wellbeing in Construction Completion of online courses allows participants to gain CPD points and access bespoke action plans which promote the implementation of good practice workplace standards. Ian Heptonstall, Director of the Supply Chain Sustainability School said: “I’m delighted that we have four leading infrastructure clients providing a clear and consistent “ask” of their supply chain. The funding provided by these clients enables suppliers to access construction specific training that will help them develop their knowledge of equality and diversity good practice and in turn foster a culture of fairness, inclusion and respect within their teams – making our industry better for all.” For more information and to register for the free online learning sessions, visit supplychainschool.co.uk

Over a fifth of companies that regularly hire apprentices took on fewer in 2020  A quarter of tradespeople and companies plan on hiring new apprentices in 2021  Percentage of female, BAME and apprentices with learning difficulties continues to grow year on year IronmongeryDirect launch competition to win £5,000 towards funding an apprentice  A third of companies and tradespeople (31%)1 who regularly hire apprentices feel that the program has been made harder due to the pandemic, as new ONS figures2 show a 30% drop in new construction apprentices between August and October 2020, compared to the same period the previous year.  Demonstrating the effect of Covid-19 on the scheme, more than one in five (22%) companies that usually hire apprentices took on fewer in 2020, despite a fifth (19%) of tradespeople believing that the program is more important now than ever.  Commissioned by IronmongeryDirect, the UK’s largest supplier of specialist ironmongery, in the run up to National Apprenticeship Week (8th to 14th February), the study also reveals that one in 12 tradespeople (8%) believe that the government has not done enough to support apprentices throughout the pandemic.  Looking at the year ahead, the positive news is that a quarter (23%) of businesses and tradespeople plan to bring on apprentices in 2021. Building surveyors (34%) and electricians (28%) are the most likely trades to be looking for apprentices this year, while painter/decorators and landscapers are least likely (15% and 5%, respectively).  Men in the industry are more likely than women to think that an apprenticeship is a great way for people to learn skills (31% vs 23%). Contrastingly however, it is tradeswomen and female-led companies that are most likely to be looking for an apprentice in the year ahead, with a quarter of women (25%) planning to hire a trainee compared to only one in five tradesmen (20%).  According to the Office of National Statistics, female apprentices in construction are also on the rise, increasing by 19% in the 2019/20 academic year compared to the previous 12 months. This represents a much larger trend in growth as there are a huge 333% more female construction trainees than in 2014/2015. So far in the 2020/2021 academic year, the percentage of female new starters has increased to 9%, suggesting that this growth is set to continue.  The statistics also reveal a changing story for apprentices of colour. While BAME apprentices made up only 6% of new construction apprentices in 2019/2020, this represents a 16% increase to the previous year and an 82% rise since 2014/2015. What’s more, despite the challenges of the Coronavirus pandemic, the proportion of BAME trainees continues to grow as they make up 8% of new starters so far this academic year.  The proportion of new apprentices with learning difficulties is also on the increase, making up 14% of the 2019/2020 intake. This is a 53% increase from 2014/15. This trend seems set to continue as 16% of the 2020/2021 year’s new starters so far have learning difficulties.  Commenting on the research, Marco Verdonkschot, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, said: “It’s great to see many tradespeople and companies are still looking to make use of the apprenticeship program, despite the difficulty of the past year.   “We think the apprenticeship scheme is an amazing way to help shape the next generation of tradespeople. That’s why we’ve launched a competition for a UK based tradesperson or company to win £5,000 towards funding an apprentice.”    “There are so many people who do amazing work in the industry today who started out as apprentices, so it’s important that the program continues to be well-funded. More needs to be done to support apprentices throughout this pandemic to ensure that we continue to have great talent in the future, and we wanted to do our bit to help!”  To enter the competition or learn more about this research, visit: https://www.ironmongerydirect.co.uk/blog/apprenticeships-and-covid-19-looking-ahead-to-2021