A new London-based scheme will receive £2m worth of funding to help tackle the shortage of skilled construction workers in the area.
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has announced £2m has been committed to a new project aimed at increasing the number of skilled construction workers in Greater London.
The money will be used to provide training and work placements for workers. Support will also be given to help 500 unemployed workers back into the industry.
Greater London is facing a crisis when it comes to the availability of skilled construction workers. In order to fulfil the industry’s order book, just under 1,300 new skilled construction workers will be needed in the area every year between now and 2019.
A new partnership between the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the London Enterprise Panel will see a programme of skills and training activities tailored to meet the needs of the construction sector in Greater London.
Five areas that will be developed include supporting 500 construction workers back into employment; developing a work placements pilot for 100 people currently not in employment, education or training; developing specialist business interventions for 700 people from small construction companies; supporting London Boroughs that wish to adopt the CITB’s National Skills Academy for Construction’s and Client Based Approach schemes; and researching and understanding the potential of co-operation between small construction businesses.
Chair of the London Enterprise Panel Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: “Cranes can be seen on the skyline… of every corner of the capital and the industry needs thousands of new workers every year to keep pace with demand.
“It is a fantastic time to start work in that sector and we intend that this scheme will help provide Londoners with the necessary skills to do so.”
CITB Sector Strategy Manager for Greater London Janette Welton-Pai said “We’re delighted to announce the start of the Joint Initiative in Investment scheme for London and have been working very closely with the London Enterprise Panel over the last few months to agree on its objectives and scope.
“It’s an ambitious and unique programme but most importantly it implements a new approach to addressing skills and training needs.
“We have been using intelligence from both organisations to help identify the region’s specific requirements and closely map out local priority needs.
“One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to skills and it’s particularly important in the current climate to ensure that any training or up-skilling undertaken is relevant and purposeful.”
