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28th January 2021
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Third of construction firms are turned off by taking on apprentices, warns FMB
A third of small construction firms are being put off from taking on apprentices because of the bureaucracy involved, according to a new research report 'Defusing the skills time bomb' published this week by the Federation of Master Builders.
"The construction industry is in the midst of a skills crisis which can only be solved if more employers take on apprentices," says Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB.
The Government wants to deliver three million apprentices over the next five years and this new report sheds some light on how this can be achieved. Our research shows that 94% of small construction firms want to train apprentices but a third are being turned off by a number of serious 'fear factors'. These include the cost of employing and training an apprentice and major concerns regarding the complexity of the process.
"There is strong evidence to show that small construction firms need better information and that if they were more aware of the support that's available, a great number would train apprentices. Just under 80% of non-recruiters are not aware of one of the most important apprenticeship grants available to them and just over 75% say knowledge of financial support would make them more likely to take on apprentices.
"Given that two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, it is critical that the Government does everything in its power to remove any barriers that might be stopping these companies from training. Looking ahead, the Government's new apprenticeship voucher could be a disaster for small firms unless it is properly road tested and made as simple and easy-to-use as possible.
"We're also calling on the Government to protect our industry training board which is at risk from the new Apprenticeship Levy. The Construction Industry Training Board needs reform admittedly, but without it the very smallest firms would be left with less financial and practical support for apprenticeship training - remove this lifeline and you risk worsening the skills crisis."
About the research
The top five barriers to employers training apprentices (who haven't previously trained an apprentice) are:
1 Complexity and bureaucracy of the process
2 Cost of employing and training an apprentice
3 Uncertainty of future workloads
4 Concerns over the ability to retain apprentices once trained
5 Quality of candidates
The report puts forward several urgent recommendations to the Government in order to drive apprenticeship recruitment:
1 Improved funding for older apprentices
2 New drive to encourage apprentices through public procurement
3 Mutual guarantee arrangement
4 Channel Apprenticeship levy through CITB
The full research report is available at:
4th December 2015