PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(11 December 2024)

The department is working closely with the construction sector to ensure its skills offer meets the needs of employers. We are working with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Construction Skills Delivery Group (CSDG), industry leaders and other government departments, to help more people access high-quality training and careers in construction. The CSDG has been instrumental in bringing together partners from industry, and across different government departments, to identify barriers to growth in construction and feed intelligence on how the skills offer can be shaped to best meet the needs of the industry.

This government has announced £140 million industry investment in Homebuilding Skills Hubs. These will be established by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the National Housebuilding Council (NHBC) on a demand led basis, in areas where large scale homebuilding projects lead to a surge in demand. The hubs are projected to deliver over 5,000 fast track apprenticeships per year by 2027/28, in shortage occupations including Bricklaying and Groundwork, making use of the existing flexibilities in our apprenticeships system to help businesses get the skilled workers they need more quickly. This initiative represents £100 million investment from the NHBC and the CITB, an executive non-departmental public body.

The department continues to support the take-up of construction and construction-related subjects in further education. Skills, including construction, planning and architecture are crucial for the delivery of the government’s missions. The department is building a coherent, flexible, high-quality skills system to break down barriers to opportunity and drive economic growth, underpinned by a new post-16 skills and education strategy.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include apprenticeships, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps, and free courses for jobs.

There are currently 91 high-quality apprenticeship standards in the construction and the built environment sector, with a further two standards in development, including in occupations like level 2 scaffolder, level 3 bricklayer, and level 6 construction site manager.

The department has introduced innovations to support growth of training programmes in the sector. For example, we are making apprenticeships more flexible through flexi job apprenticeships. There are Skills Bootcamps around the country that offer courses in different areas of construction.

T Levels provide an excellent option for 16 to 19 learners and include valuable workplace experience through an industry placement of at least 45 days. Thousands of young people have benefited from T Levels such as Design, Surveying and Planning, and Building Services Engineering, which can lead to rewarding careers in the construction sector.

There are 21 ​Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) currently available in the Construction and the Built Environment occupational route, with a further 19 becoming available from September 2025. Examples of HTQs currently available in these areas include a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Modern Methods of Construction, HND in Architectural Technology and a Higher National Certificate Construction Quantity Surveying.

Following the Review of Qualifications Reform, which looked at level 3 qualifications due to be defunded by 31 July 2025, the department is retaining 12 level 3 qualifications in Construction and the Built Environment until 2026. The department’s expectation is that, at this point, the combination of A levels, T Levels and reformed qualifications will meet the needs of learners in this route.

As part of this review, the department announced that new enrolments onto the T Level in Onsite Construction will cease. Although this T Level is providing valuable education and industry experience, on the whole, its success and uptake has been limited due to the overall lack of demand for a large level 3 qualification in this area. Moving forward, the needs of learners will best be met through apprenticeships and other classroom provision as set out here.

The department is also setting up Skills England to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to help meet the skills needs of the next decade. Aligned to the government’s industrial strategy, this work will also be underpinned by local skills improvement plans, which help make technical education and training more responsive to local labour market and employer needs, including employers in the construction section.