Insulation specialist Actis has welcomed a move to remove academic restrictions preventing young people from pursuing careers in construction and the shortening of the length of an apprenticeship – although warns that these measures must not negatively impact the quality of work carried out
The move, announced by the government during National Apprenticeship Week, will see the need for GCSE maths and English removed from the list of criteria required to undertake a construction apprenticeship. It will also reduce the current 12-month training period to eight.
Actis has long been a champion for encouraging more young people to join the industry as the UK grapples with a skills shortage, and for increasing the number of offsite homes, which are quicker to construct, to help address the housing crisis.
So the announcement that these moves will see an additional 10,000 apprentices a year has been welcomed by UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper.
But he points out that while any increase is a step in the right direction, a recent report by Checkatrade revealing that the UK needs another 1.3m skilled workers and 350,000 apprentices will still leave the industry short of 340,000 new recruits.
A new cohort of trainees could deploy offsite construction to meet housing targets
He suggests that the new tranche of workers may make useful reinforcements in the fight to achieve the government’s aim of building 1.5m homes during the current parliament.
“Many areas of construction require highly skilled professionals. But there are some which require less academic expertise and practical training, which could be carried out by these trainees while they enhance their skills further. This would free up time for some of the higher skilled workers to concentrate on the trickier elements of construction.
“With offsite constructed homes some elements are very mechanised – which ensures consistent good quality – and could be carried out by this latest tranche of workers. So with proper focus and a strategic approach, this new cohort could help us create more homes which are also thermally efficient and of good quality,” he said.
“Offsite construction is an excellent way to build more homes in less time as they can be built up to 30% more quickly than their traditional counterparts.
“Elements such as wiring, plumbing and insulation take place offsite, in the factory. Our insulation systems take between 25 and 50% less time to install than traditional alternatives, which all helps to speed up the process. The onsite build element typically takes between seven and 12 days, depending on the size of house.
“While they are quicker to build, the quality of offsite homes is far better controlled. Timber frame homes can be thermally superb, cutting carbon emissions and saving money and resources.”
As a leading figure in UK insulation, Actis cares deeply about apprenticeships
Actis is involved in school and college outreach initiatives to encourage more young people to consider careers in construction and it also helps upskill existing construction professionals via its RIBA-approved CPDs – Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards and Addressing the performance gap with reflective insulation.
“So this is a good first step and is pleasing to see that we are moving in the right direction, but we also need a longer term strategy to attract more people into the industry to help us build the extra homes we need and to ensure they are of the highest thermal quality,” said Mark.
