Strategy aiming for additional 100,000 workers a year by end of this parliament
Senior leaders from across construction and government ministers are formally launching the construction sector skills mission later this morning.
The Construction Skills Mission Board is meeting to set out a strategy for recruiting an additional 100,000 workers a year by the end of the parliament.
The board was established by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) to support the government鈥檚 commitment to invest an additional 拢625m in construction skills.
Members of the board include Taylor Wimpey boss Jennie Daly, Balfour Beatty and Skanska chiefs Leo Quinn and Katy Dowding and Arup chief executive Jerome Frost.
The board will be chaired by CLC co-chair Mark Reynolds with deputy prime minister Angela Rayner joining the first meeting as well as work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall and industry minister Sarah Jones.
Reynolds said: 鈥淲e have seen real ambition from the government through its commitment to 1.5 million new homes, clean power by 2030 and a renewal of our public infrastructure; and that ambition has been backed by significant funding commitments around skills. Construction will be essential to delivering growth and investment across the UK; and so it is vital that we now step up as a sector.鈥�
Roles ranging from project managers to bricklayers will be made available to jobseekers under the agreement, which will mean Jobcentres working more closely with the construction industry to offer work experience and tailored placements to meet the need of employers.
More than 40,000 industry placements will be funded through a further 拢100m from the government, alongside a 拢32m contribution from the CITB.
Rayner said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e working hand-in-hand with industry to recruit thousands more workers into skilled construction jobs, and thanks to our Make Work Pay reforms we will ensure these jobs are more secure and better rewarded.鈥�
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