Consistent support for apprenticeships helps construction
The Government has announced a £725 million package of reforms to the apprenticeship system, including £140m for a Mayoral pilot programme.
Richard Beresford, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said: “The consistent messaging from politicians that apprenticeships should be valued as highly as degrees is fantastic and will be of great benefit to the construction industry.
“What is often not discussed is that the structure to support the employers who train and retain apprentices is being considered, with remarkable progress being made in the last 18 months. A CITB Skills Mission Board is engaging with all government departments to understand demand barriers. Skills England and DWP are collaborating, while promoting trade roles. Planning delays and burdens are finally understood as killing business growth. It does feel as though we are starting to turn the tanker.”
As part of the measures the Government has made changes to levies, provided support targeted at SMEs and reduced the length of courses. Some of the changes include:
£140 million for a pilot where Mayors will be able to connect young people with job opportunities
Covering the full cost of apprenticeships for eligible young people under 25s working for SMEs
Removing the 5% co-investment rate for SMEs
Engineering and digital skills being rolled out from April 2026
Short courses will be introduced to provide more flexible training options from April 2026
New Level 4 apprenticeship in AI
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer made it clear that apprenticeships were vital, highlighting that it was “time to change the way apprenticeships are viewed and to put them on an equal footing with university.”
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight for the NFB, said: “The consistent support for apprenticeships is fantastic because too often a change of government means a change of education policy. Historically, this has really hurt construction because apprenticeships are the key entry point for most workers.
“Going forward, we must consider why employers do not or cannot train and ultimately retain apprentices, as particularly in construction, SMEs train 8 in 10 of them. In the NFB’s housebuilder survey, 43% of respondents said they had reduced directly employed labour due to planning uncertainty or delay and 57% said that ‘no pipeline of work’ and ‘lack of planning certainty’ stopped them from taking on more apprentices.
“Now the black hole in the nations finances has been filled, the Government must think about how it can remove the taxation and regulation which stops businesses employing more staff, so support for apprenticeships delivers meaningful and sustained change.”
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