ConstructionSkills has announced an apprenticeship scheme, which combines study and work on site for the first time.

Trainees on the programme-led apprenticeship (PLA) spend two years at college taking their Intermediate Construction Award and key skills level 1 before going on to a nine-12 month placement with an employer to achieve an NVQ level 2.

ConstructionSkills says 42% of trainees in England and Wales fail to gain a full NVQ owing to the lack of work placements.

Its own apprenticeship scheme is oversubscribed by about 34,000 candidates a year. It has been in operation since 2005, and takes on 100 students a year. The pilot had a 71% completion rate.

Keith Watkins, the operations manager at ConstructionSkills, said: 鈥淭his is not intended to be a replacement for traditional apprenticeships. PLAs will provide the industry with an additional supply of recruits by increasing the number of employers who can take on an apprentice.鈥�

Alan Johnson, the secretary of state for education, has promised apprenticeships for every young person who wants one by 2013, and the Leitch Review set a target of 500,000 young people on apprenticeships across all sectors by 2020.