WIREDGOV

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and ConstructionSkills – the UK’s Sector Skills Council for construction - yesterday announced a joint employment drive to resume the training of hundreds of apprentices made redundant during the recession.

The collaboration draws on the HCA’s expertise and relationships with their key local authority and Registered Social Landlord (RSL) partners in a bid to promote and foster support for ConstructionSkills’ Apprenticeship Matching Service (AMS), which recently secured £1million of financial support from the Government’s National Apprenticeship Service (NAS). The funding, available for organisations including social housing and housing maintenance firms, which have taken on apprentices during the downturn, aims to encourage them to maintain their support for apprenticeships and demonstrate their commitment to local communities and young people. In this way, it is anticipated that at least 800 displaced apprentices in the last 12 months of their training will benefit.

This funding incentive sits alongside the Government’s wider drive to boost apprenticeships during the downturn, and is backed by the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians (UCATT).

Companies able to provide suitable employment to displaced apprentices and support them to complete their training are eligible to apply for up to £1,000. For employers who are registered with CITB-ConstructionSkills - the Industry Training Board for construction that collects levy from the industry - this money comes on top of funding already available through the organisation’s existing grant scheme.

Sir Bob Kerslake, chief executive of the HCA, said:

'One of the biggest risks we face in a recession is that we don’t nurture and support the next generation to build a career in housing and regeneration. The HCA is committed to improving the skills and capacity of the housing and regeneration sector and so I welcome the opportunity to work with ConstructionSkills, the National Apprenticeship Service and UCATT to encourage those we work with to support apprenticeships.'

Mark Farrar, ConstructionSkills chief executive, said:

'This money, secured from the NAS, is to act as a real incentive for even more employers to support the ConstructionSkills Apprenticeship Matching Service (AMS), which helps employers hold on to their apprentices or, when this is not possible, matches displaced apprentices with new employers. At ConstructionSkills, we are successful in placing thousands of apprentices with construction companies every year throughout the UK, so it would be a real shame if these apprentices, especially those who are so close to the finish line, were lost to the industry.'

Housing Minister John Healey said:

'Our focus is not just to deliver more homes but to help Britain through the recession and create job opportunities for local people. We can only achieve this by insisting that organisations invest in young people and provide access to the support, training and career opportunities they deserve. Apprenticeship schemes will play a fundamental role in creating the chance of training and work for more young people.'

For more media information contact Helen Stoddart on 020 7881 1615 / helen.stoddart@hca.gsx.gov.uk in the HCA press office, or the ConstructionSkills press office on 0300 456 5424.

Notes to editors:

Homes and Communities Agency
The HCA is the single, national housing and regeneration agency for England. We bring together English Partnerships, investment functions of the Housing Corporation, and the Academy for Sustainable Communities, with major delivery programmes of Communities and Local Government.

Our role is to create opportunity for people to live in high quality, sustainable places. We provide funding for affordable housing, bring land back into productive use and improve quality of life by raising standards for the physical and social environment.

ConstructionSkills
ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the construction industry. As a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, CIC and CITB Northern Ireland, we are UK-wide and represent the whole industry from professional consultancies to major contractors and SMEs.

Established as an SSC in 2003, ConstructionSkills is working to deliver a safe, professional and fully qualified construction workforce through the industry’s Sector Skills Agreement. We are responsible for raising employer engagement in training, implementing industry-led skills solutions, securing appropriate funding, producing labour market data, and developing standards and qualifications that meet employer needs.

ConstructionSkills is a well run and high performing Sector Skills Council, supporting a sector which is central to the UK economy, generating over 8% of GDP and a turnover of more than £210bn a year. ConstructionSkills is helping construction employers during the downturn and working to maintain skills so the industry can respond when the upturn begins.

For further information on the ConstructionSkills Apprenticeship Programme, visit: http://www.cskills.org and to register your interest, visit: https://www.cskillsdirect.org/ALMO-emailer/index.html

For general information about apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk