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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jun/24/construction-industry-apprenticeships-skilled-workers-training
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| 'At some point we will have no one coming into the construction industry' | 'At some point we will have no one coming into the construction industry' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Abby Shorter is beaming. She has been fitting radiators all morning in a block of new flats in south London and it is going well. “I like to see a project grow and progress. It is very rewarding,” says the 24-year-old. | Abby Shorter is beaming. She has been fitting radiators all morning in a block of new flats in south London and it is going well. “I like to see a project grow and progress. It is very rewarding,” says the 24-year-old. |
| Shorter is a rare thing in construction: a skilled young recruit at the end of a plumbing apprenticeship. | Shorter is a rare thing in construction: a skilled young recruit at the end of a plumbing apprenticeship. |
| For the last two years, in college classrooms and on construction sites, the former retail manager has been learning about combi boilers, taps, toilet pans – she prefers fitting brand new ones to repairing used ones. After this job, she moves on to a new site and can barely contain her excitement about the pipework. | For the last two years, in college classrooms and on construction sites, the former retail manager has been learning about combi boilers, taps, toilet pans – she prefers fitting brand new ones to repairing used ones. After this job, she moves on to a new site and can barely contain her excitement about the pipework. |
| This job is all plastic but the next job is all copper. With copper there is more of an art to it | This job is all plastic but the next job is all copper. With copper there is more of an art to it |
| “This job is all plastic but the next job is all copper. With copper there is more of an art to it. You can bend the pipework in a way that it looks nice, there are soldering techniques.” | “This job is all plastic but the next job is all copper. With copper there is more of an art to it. You can bend the pipework in a way that it looks nice, there are soldering techniques.” |
| Her skills are in high demand as the construction sector clambers out of its deep recession. Work is picking up but builders say the struggle to find the right people is holding back growth and pushing up costs. It is a picture echoed across the UK economy, with employment at a record high. On the surface the labour market looks to have put the recession behind it, but concerns about skills shortages are growing. | Her skills are in high demand as the construction sector clambers out of its deep recession. Work is picking up but builders say the struggle to find the right people is holding back growth and pushing up costs. It is a picture echoed across the UK economy, with employment at a record high. On the surface the labour market looks to have put the recession behind it, but concerns about skills shortages are growing. |
| Perhaps nowhere are the warnings so loud as in the construction sector after it shed thousands of skilled workers in the downturn. | Perhaps nowhere are the warnings so loud as in the construction sector after it shed thousands of skilled workers in the downturn. |
| Business surveys suggest the demand for subcontractors is soaring as vacancies remain unfilled. The average advertised salary in the sector is up 14% on a year ago to £38,813, according to the jobs search engine Adzuna. The number of vacancies is up 28% on the year – beating the 26% increase Adzuna reports across all UK industries. | Business surveys suggest the demand for subcontractors is soaring as vacancies remain unfilled. The average advertised salary in the sector is up 14% on a year ago to £38,813, according to the jobs search engine Adzuna. The number of vacancies is up 28% on the year – beating the 26% increase Adzuna reports across all UK industries. |
| New work picking up | New work picking up |
| The skills shortage is something the project manager on Shorter’s site knows all too well. Stuart Millichamp says about 70 of the 100 contractors working on this apartment building are from outside the UK. | The skills shortage is something the project manager on Shorter’s site knows all too well. Stuart Millichamp says about 70 of the 100 contractors working on this apartment building are from outside the UK. |
| “I can’t emphasise enough that these guys are very good at their jobs and we have a long way to go to ensure we get people coming into the industry that are the same kind of standard,” he says. | “I can’t emphasise enough that these guys are very good at their jobs and we have a long way to go to ensure we get people coming into the industry that are the same kind of standard,” he says. |
| “But it’s worrying for the British economy isn’t it, that at some point in the future we will have no one coming into the industry and will be completely reliant on others.” | “But it’s worrying for the British economy isn’t it, that at some point in the future we will have no one coming into the industry and will be completely reliant on others.” |
| Millichamp, who is project manager for the construction company Willmott Dixon, says the average age of a heating engineer is over 40 and that the building trade urgently needs young recruits like Shorter. But finding the funds and time to train them remains a challenge. Subcontractors such as plumbing companies outbid each other to get work with bigger firms like Willmott Dixon, which means margins are tight. | Millichamp, who is project manager for the construction company Willmott Dixon, says the average age of a heating engineer is over 40 and that the building trade urgently needs young recruits like Shorter. But finding the funds and time to train them remains a challenge. Subcontractors such as plumbing companies outbid each other to get work with bigger firms like Willmott Dixon, which means margins are tight. |
| “The state of construction in the last five or six years means people don’t have the means to invest in the trade any more,” says Millichamp. “If they are putting in apprentices that need to have people with them all the time, that is not being cost efficient.” | “The state of construction in the last five or six years means people don’t have the means to invest in the trade any more,” says Millichamp. “If they are putting in apprentices that need to have people with them all the time, that is not being cost efficient.” |
| The mismatch between the sector’s need for skilled workers and its training record was the inspiration behind K10, the social enterprise running Shorter’s apprenticeship scheme. | The mismatch between the sector’s need for skilled workers and its training record was the inspiration behind K10, the social enterprise running Shorter’s apprenticeship scheme. |
| Construction has fragmented: people making the investment are a long, long way from people building the building | Construction has fragmented: people making the investment are a long, long way from people building the building |
| “No one owns the problem,” says K10’s chief executive, Andrew Purvis. “Construction has a fragmented supply chain of contractors and subcontractors: the people making the investment are a long, long way from the people building the building.” | “No one owns the problem,” says K10’s chief executive, Andrew Purvis. “Construction has a fragmented supply chain of contractors and subcontractors: the people making the investment are a long, long way from the people building the building.” |
| At the same time, there are 943,000 young people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training (Neets). “One in 10 jobs in Britain is in construction and there is all this building going on and all these young people out of work,” says Purvis. | At the same time, there are 943,000 young people in the UK who are not in education, employment or training (Neets). “One in 10 jobs in Britain is in construction and there is all this building going on and all these young people out of work,” says Purvis. |
| Completing a construction apprenticeship guarantees more than just a job, he says. It opens up a career with rising earning potential – even if it is hard work to stick at. | Completing a construction apprenticeship guarantees more than just a job, he says. It opens up a career with rising earning potential – even if it is hard work to stick at. |
| “Construction is a tough sector. Not just because it’s outdoors, it’s a 7.30am start everyday, there is zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, you can get away with a lot less than in a white-collar job,” says Purvis. “We are working with young people. If you have 10, two won’t show up.” | “Construction is a tough sector. Not just because it’s outdoors, it’s a 7.30am start everyday, there is zero tolerance for drugs and alcohol, you can get away with a lot less than in a white-collar job,” says Purvis. “We are working with young people. If you have 10, two won’t show up.” |
| Then there is the pay. K10’s minimum wage is £3.60, the national minimum wage for apprentices is £2.73. | Then there is the pay. K10’s minimum wage is £3.60, the national minimum wage for apprentices is £2.73. |
| “You are going to be on a very tight belt for the time of your apprenticeship but it’s an investment in your future,” says Purvis. | “You are going to be on a very tight belt for the time of your apprenticeship but it’s an investment in your future,” says Purvis. |
| Shorter was on the national minimum wage of £6.50 on her last job and worked 40 hours a week on site as well as another 25 hours in a restaurant at the weekend to top up her income. She is now becoming self-employed and finds she can make £10-£12 an hour. | Shorter was on the national minimum wage of £6.50 on her last job and worked 40 hours a week on site as well as another 25 hours in a restaurant at the weekend to top up her income. She is now becoming self-employed and finds she can make £10-£12 an hour. |
| “It’s only really been a year, two years that I have been working really hard and now I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m starting to see I can make good money,” she says. | “It’s only really been a year, two years that I have been working really hard and now I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m starting to see I can make good money,” she says. |
| K10 signed on 184 new apprentices last year and wants to grow that markedly over coming years. It is optimistic given the strong pipeline of building projects in and around London and thanks to an investment via Big Society Capital, a financial institution set up by the Cabinet Office to build the UK’s social investment market. | K10 signed on 184 new apprentices last year and wants to grow that markedly over coming years. It is optimistic given the strong pipeline of building projects in and around London and thanks to an investment via Big Society Capital, a financial institution set up by the Cabinet Office to build the UK’s social investment market. |
| Strong pipeline | Strong pipeline |
| The industry knows such local schemes will only go some way to tackling the chronic skills shortage. But the latest government push on apprenticeships is encouraging, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). | The industry knows such local schemes will only go some way to tackling the chronic skills shortage. But the latest government push on apprenticeships is encouraging, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). |
| The skills minister, Nick Boles, has unveiled plans to create 3m apprenticeships by 2020. Brian Berry, FMB’s chief executive, welcomed that target but pointed out reforms would be needed to achieve it. | |
| “As construction accounts for about 7% of GDP, it means our sector should be responsible for around 210,000 of these apprenticeships, which equates to 42,000 a year over the next parliament. Given that the industry only achieved 16,000 in 2013/2014, there is a lot of work to be done,” he says. | “As construction accounts for about 7% of GDP, it means our sector should be responsible for around 210,000 of these apprenticeships, which equates to 42,000 a year over the next parliament. Given that the industry only achieved 16,000 in 2013/2014, there is a lot of work to be done,” he says. |
| The trade groups say that with almost 40% of construction output coming from the public sector, government must only award contracts to those who take on apprentices. | The trade groups say that with almost 40% of construction output coming from the public sector, government must only award contracts to those who take on apprentices. |
| “In the past, there has been evidence to suggest that pledges by firms to train apprentices have not transpired. Government needs to get better at policing its contractual stipulations if we are to really crank up the level of apprenticeships via the public sector,” says Berry. | “In the past, there has been evidence to suggest that pledges by firms to train apprentices have not transpired. Government needs to get better at policing its contractual stipulations if we are to really crank up the level of apprenticeships via the public sector,” says Berry. |