The CBI’s Tomorrow’s Growth report, which argues that relying alone on traditional university courses will not meet the growing demand for degree-level, technical skills in manufacturing, construction, IT and engineering, highlights the challenge that lies ahead to equip the next generation of workers with the right mix of practical and theoretical knowledge required to generate growth, says William Burton.
The report rightly highlights the role that construction, along with the other business sectors that form part of the government’s over-arching industrial strategy, can play in spurring the country’s economic revival.
But without the right people, who have the right blend of skills, growth will be harder to achieve. The need for this is exacerbated by the fact that one in five construction workers is due to retire in the next decade.
One of the main recommendations of the report is for closer collaboration between employers and the higher education sector. This is a view that CITB endorses.
For some time, we have been facilitating the construction industry’s 14–19 Advisory Committee – made up of representatives from employers, awarding bodies, professional bodies and further education and higher education institutions. The Committee is a key adviser to government on the provision of construction education and training.
But more pertinently, CITB has also been a partner in the creation of the industry’s first University Technical College (UTC), due to open its doors in Walsall in September.
The UTC will see construction businesses in the area working closely with the college’s staff to provide a ‘vocademic’ style of education – including a construction specialism alongside GCSEs and business, entrepreneurial and employability skills. The curriculum is aligned to the needs of local construction firms, to offer the college’s young people maximum employment opportunities within the industry in the west midlands and beyond.
Work-based learning programmes are also flagged by the CBI as crucial to providing the next generation of employees with experience of day-to-day workplace practices. Again, this is certainly appropriate for the construction industry. For example, we have been long-term supporters of the Constructionarium project, which is designed to give undergraduates studying civil engineering, built environment and construction management courses ‘real world’ hands-on experience.
"The UTC will see construction businesses in the area working closely with the college’s staff to provide a ‘vocademic’ style of education – including a construction specialism alongside GCSEs and business, entrepreneurial and employability skills."
Over the summer, students from 12 universities will be put to the test by a number of big employers, including Laing O’Rourke and Sir Robert McAlpine, to create versions of iconic buildings such as the Gherkin and the Barcelona Tower
But one vitally important factor in the provision of training is funding. For businesses, the CBI urges consideration of a tax credit system of employer funding, run through employers’ PAYE returns. This approach was also mooted in the recent Richard Review of apprenticeships.
In construction, however, we are wary of adopting such a model. Our own research among employers shows that they prefer a system of cash funding, using managing agencies such as CITB to help them navigate the red tape associated with taking on an apprentice. In fact, when asked what a change in funding arrangement would mean for their recruitment of apprentices, 77% of employers told us that they’d be likely to take on fewer young people – a development which would have a high impact on the industry’s future skills base.
But a more suitable direct approach to funding for the industry is the ‘employer ownership’ model, where businesses ‘bid’ for money from the UK Commission for Employment Skills to assist with their training requirements. This is something that CITB is open to, and we are currently working with a number of employers to take advantage of the process.
For learners, too, funding is becoming an increasingly important consideration. The switch from grants to loans from August this year, for people aged 24 and over that undertake qualifications at Level 3 and above, means that we may see a drop-off in applications to train. As highlighted in the report, this age group tends to be more debt-averse, so may be less likely to apply for support from the Student Loans Company.
In the construction industry, learning new skills is not purely the preserve of younger workers. Indeed, through our role as the leading construction training provider in Europe, we know that continuing professional development carries on throughout people’s careers – especially as new, modern methods of construction emerge. This is particularly important as demographic change means that more of us will be retiring later, and so will need our skills to be regularly refreshed. For that reason, we believe that everybody – not just those up to the age of 24 – should be able to access funding of some kind.
Tomorrow’s Growth brings many important issues to the fore, not least the need to create training infrastructures that bring through a pipeline of talent capable of delivering growth. And as a high-tech, world-class industry, the UK’s construction sector – which provides some 8% of GDP – must keep evolving to ensure that its workers possess the right mix of skills for the future economy.
William Burton is interim chief executive of CITB. To find out more about how CITB is supporting the development of tomorrow’s workforce, visit www.citb.co.uk
