Skills

Some employers in the construction sector have suggested that apprentices should contribute to the cost of their own training, amid growing funding pressures. The views are included in a report from industry bodies the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), which says the levy on large…

A lack of companies' awareness of how to sponsor migrant workers through the government’s points-based system is hurting the sector’s ability to recruit, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has warned. In a new report, the skills body also found that the proportion of overseas workers in construction dropped from…

Willmott Dixon has launched its first drylining academy for prisoners in the North of England. The Hertfordshire-based contractor will teach inmates at HMP Lincoln plasterboard installation skills to help them find jobs on their release. It follows similar initiatives at HMP Elmley in Kent, HMP Cardiff in South Wales and…

Industry heavyweight Mark Farmer is to lead a major review of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), six years after the previous government-commissioned probe led to a serious shake-up of the skills body. Farmer, a productivity champion and chief executive of Cast Consultancy who wrote the oft-quoted Modernise or Die…

A major construction industry body is pushing for more trade roles to be added to the government’s Shortage Occupation List because of the difficulties employers are facing in filling crucial jobs. The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has called for 13 occupations – including steel erectors, sheet metal workers and road…

The Construction Industry Training Board has been judged to ‘require improvement’ in a damning Ofsted report, after the body announced a shift away from subcontracted apprenticeship provision. The CITB – rated ‘outstanding’ in its last inspection six years ago – was given the second-lowest rating across all five areas on…

The UK’s further education system should retrain older workers to help tackle the skills crisis in the construction sector, according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). CITB chief executive Tim Balcon called for a greater focus on developing skills “for all ages and all people” in the further education…

A shake-up of migration rules that could have helped to plug skill shortages in the construction sector has been stalled by the Home Office. The review of the shortage occupation list, which specifies the roles that employers have the greatest difficulty recruiting for locally, was commissioned by the government last…

The president of the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has urged the construction industry to target younger age groups and take a longer-term view in tackling the industry's skills shortage. In an interview with Construction News, Rab Fletcher argued for a different approach to highlight the attractions of a career…

A new apprenticeship accreditation set up by the Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE) will focus on “quality control”, the organisation’s chief executive has said. The scheme, set up in conjunction with the Fire Service College, will involve an “end-point assessment” focusing on occupational competence and capability, designed to put fire-safety…