The CIOB is throwing its weight behind a new inquiry chaired by former construction minister Nick Raynsford and Lord Richard Best, a former director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, into boosting youth employment.
The inquiry will focus on how more opportunities can be created on the back of construction and housing investment and ways that barriers and challenges can be overcome.
The cross-party group of parliamentarians is calling on construction clients, including local authorities and housing associations, construction companies and other relevant stakeholders, to submit evidence of using capital investment in housing and construction projects to create employment and training for young people.
As well as support from the CIOB, the inquiry is being backed by the Construction Industry Training Board and the main charities involved in getting young people into construction work.
Michael Brown, deputy chief executive of the CIOB, said: “The CIOB is happy to support this inquiry. Youth unemployment is a major issue in the UK and certain other European countries, affecting not only school leavers but also unemployed graduates and many others. With one million unemployed young people we are potentially creating major social issues for ourselves in future years.
"With an unprecedented number of young people not in employment, education or training our inquiry is an attempt to secure two benefits from a growth in construction: not just new homes and better infrastructure, but training and employment for these 16-to-24-year-olds."
Lord Richard Best
“The construction industry is a significant employer within the UK but beset with a boom/bust economy. We need to find more effective ways of providing training and skills to address this issue whilst ensuring that we have a skilled workforce available when we need it.”
Joint chair Lord Best said: “We are expecting to see extra investment into new homes and infrastructure projects over the months ahead. But how can we ensure that the UK’s £100bn construction investment will lead to new jobs and new skills for the growing army of unemployed young people in this country?
“With an unprecedented number of young people not in employment, education or training our inquiry is an attempt to secure two benefits from a growth in construction: not just new homes and better infrastructure, but training and employment for these 16-to-24-year-olds currently facing a bleak future.”
A key focus of the inquiry is how clients and their contractors can work more closely to employ apprentices when they win projects. There has been criticism that councils fail to see this through, while contractors have complained that clients’ expectations can be unrealistic.
Nicola Hodkinson, director of business services at Bolton-based contractor Seddon said:”Clients might ask contractors to train four apprentices per million pounds of contract value, when the contract only lasts a year. Some contractors win the work, then find a way of getting out of it. Or the big boys promise the earth, then they sub it out to their subcontractors.
“Clients often don’t know what they’re asking for. Sometimes, they want to see the apprentices on the job all the time, even though they might be in college or on another site.
“Shared Apprenticeship Schemes aren’t necessarily the answer. There was a big SAS in Salford, but for it to work properly you need buy-in from all the contractors working in the area, and the work has to be continuous, with no gaps.
“The problems have been well documented for years, but it hasn’t really improved. To be honest, we’ve just learned to live with it, thanks to a good training manager.”
