The government claims 5,000 apprentices will be fast-tracked onto building sites each year by 2028 thanks to a new network of training centres. But can training time be halved without cutting corners? Josh Mellor investigates
With a pledge of 1.5 million new homes to be completed by the end of this parliament, Labour has set the building trade a huge target.
And part of the solution will be provided by a £140 million network of 32 training hubs where apprentices can qualify in around half the time they do today.
Key to the plan’s success is using block-release, whereby apprentices attend training hubs for weeks at a time to develop skills, instead of off-the-job college learning one day a week.
The National House Building Council (NHBC), a building insurance and warranty provider with a construction skills training arm, said block release recently helped its level 2 bricklaying apprentices qualify in 14 months, instead of the 24-month typical duration assigned to it by trailblazer employers that created the programme.
A target of 5,000 additional apprentice places per year by 2028 is a big increase on current construction completion levels, which was around 24,000 last year, including 11,400 at Level 2.
Multi-skills hubs
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) estimates the UK needs 250,000 new construction workers by 2028.
NHBC plans to spend £100 million opening 12 ‘multi-skills training hubs’, expanding on the block release model it established at four centres opened since it became an apprenticeship training provider in 2020.
The centres, which focus on bricklaying and ground work, mimic construction sites. They are open to the elements, portable cabins are used for office space, and apprentices are required to start “shifts” early.
Meanwhile, the CITB, an arms-length public body that funds training, qualifications and apprenticeships through a levy that raises £200 million per year from businesses, will provide up to £40 million, bringing the training centre total to 32.
In collaboration with NHBC it plans to open centres in Burgess Hill, West Sussex, and Lichfield, Staffs, but the locations of other training centres are yet to be confirmed.
FE Week understands they will be targeted in areas where local training providers struggle to meet demand for construction workers.
CITB wants to work in “partnership” with existing providers and employers and has no plans to use its own long-established National Construction College sites in Kent, Norfolk and Scotland.
Additional flexibilities
Despite the critical importance of construction workers in achieving Labour’s 1.5 million new homes pledge, the Department for Education told FE Week it will not invest in the new training centres.
Skills England will help by identifying areas “that need construction workers the most” to ensure employers and businesses have access to “high-quality apprenticeship training”, DfE promised.
Officials are also exploring “additional flexibilities” to help workers qualify faster, such as shorter duration apprenticeships and foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors.
Do ‘fast-track’ claims stand up?
NHBC said using block-release meant it could condense teaching time, and the new training hubs will provide a more realistic environment than many colleges can offer.
Training apprentices at dedicated sites is a model already used by the engineering and manufacturing sectors, with teaching delivered by training associations that are typically co-owned by several companies.
NHBC says bricklaying is the construction skill that can be completed quickest.
It trains level 2 bricklaying apprentices within 14 to 18 months and level three in 14 to 16 months, compared to typical durations of 24 months and 18 months respectively specified by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
Responding to questions about whether “halving” apprenticeship durations is realistic, Roger Morton, NHBC’s director of change and training hubs, said many training providers tell him their apprentices take “significantly longer” to qualify that IfATE’s targets.
But NHBC aims to deliver ground worker level 2 apprenticeships in 14 to 16 months and Morton is confident it can reduce that time to 12 to 13 months.
Carpentry is “programmed” for 14 to 16 months but the full challenges will not be fully understood “until we start delivery”, he said.
Confident in prior success
Morton, who spent 25 years in the Royal Engineers, added: “We know from evidence this week that 14 months is what we can achieve [for bricklayers].
“We’re confident we can reduce the times in ground working and carpentry as well, because it’s about the model we have – intensive training in site conditions.
“It’s very different to more traditional provision, and that does make a big difference in discipline and the behaviour as people progress through.”
NHBC is currently graded ‘requires improvement’ by Ofsted, although a recent monitoring report found ‘reasonable progress’ in all areas.
It also had an achievement rate of 38.5 per cent from 140 apprentice starts in 2022-23.
CITB, which had an achievement rate of 60 per cent in 2022-23, said the centres it planned to fund would also use the block release model.
It added: “We’d be looking at delivery of ground work and potentially scaffolding and plant operations – in these instances, you couldn’t reduce the course length by half, but it would be possible to reduce the average duration.”
Quality fears
Graham Hasting-Evans, chief executive of training charity NOCN Group, questioned whether “pushing people through” quickly risked undermining the quality of apprentices who qualify.
He said: “They’re not doing it for long enough – like when you drive a car you pass your test, but you’re still sort of learning and getting more confidence.”
In a joint statement, CITB and the DfE said the quality of fast-track training can remain high as long as providers offer “good links between onsite and offsite training, excellent mentoring and employer support”.
Morton said quality is “at the heart” of everything NHBC delivers, given its role in providing insurance and warranty protection for newly built homes.
He said the external assessment system means training standards are maintained, and NHBC has extensive experience recognising poor housebuilding skills from its central business – guaranteeing build quality in new homes.
A CITB spokesperson said faster completions wouldn’t be “the right thing” for every apprentice and added it would prioritise the “needs of the apprentice and the employer”.
Why stop at just halving the duration?
If ‘off the job’ is 20% then halving the duration would take it to 40%. You still have 60% to play with!
For any policymakers reading this comment, it is intended as a joke not a suggestion.
We need to think of, as well as the wet trades, things like Electricians, Plumbers and Gas fitters.
Currently the Electrical Apprenticeship is 4 years. 3 years a government report said we need to increase starts by 64%, since when nothing has happened.
The biggest problem is recruiting tutors to teach apprentices as they can earn a lot more working on site, and if labour is short this will be even more of a problem.
If this is to be achieved then Apprenticeship funding rates need a significant uplift so we can attract enough tutors to make this happen.
The biggest issue with this sector is it dominated by sub-contractors delivering most of the trades that will not employ apprentices in volume.
If the Government or Skills England is to maintain the legal obligation on Apprentices being truely employed, there is no way that whilst there is demand to meet house building needs, those supplying the demand (the employers) will not recruit in volume. It is just the way the sector operates.
And let us be correct, the DFE aren’t funding any of this but yet still the private providers will still have a contract that can be terminated instantly (and often are) but expected to invest in capital and infrastructure.
Do these people actually have any practical experience when they develop this policy.
Even Barrett and Redrow rely heavily on sub-contractors to build their houses.