New National Skills Academy for Construction Planned in West Midlands

A National Skills Academy for Construction is being planned to be developed in the West Midlands.

West Midlands Mayor, Richard Parker, and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) have today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) committing to Academy.

The agreement is among the first of its kind in the country and aims to address local skills shortages as well as creating pathways into construction careers.

It’s one of the first partnerships under CITB’s national initiative to create a connected construction skills ecosystem across England, aligning national and regional priorities.

Through greater employer engagement in training and skills planning, the network will support more people into construction careers and help ensure local skills provision is aligned to workforce demand, says CITB.

For the West Midlands region to meet expected workforce demand in the construction industry, CITB’s forecasting shows that recruitment would have to increase by more than 3,800 extra workers every year for the next 5 years.

By improving intelligence sharing, aligning investment and connecting Mayoral Strategic Authorities, Local Skills Improvement Plans, government and industry, it is hoped the network will strengthen workforce planning and increase labour market participation.

Richard Parker, Mayor of West Midlands Combined Authority, said: “We’re heading into a construction boom that will power new jobs, new homes and new opportunities right across the West Midlands. And this latest investment in training and apprenticeships will help make sure local people have the skills they need to land those new jobs.

“It’s by working with the CITB and local employers in this way that we can tackle this industry skills shortage head-on and get our workforce ready to build the infrastructure that will drive future growth.”

Strategic Partnership

Last year the mayor announced £75m for construction skills training over the next 3 years to address the expected industry shortage of around 12,000 workers.

The construction boom is being driven in part by the mayor’s commitment to tackle the region’s housing crisis, which saw him contract a record 7,237 new homes over the last year, 2,452 of which were affordable, including 1,086 for social rent, the most affordable type of housing.

Tim Balcon, CEO, CITB, said:  “Addressing the construction industry’s skills needs requires industry-wide collaboration, strong partnerships with central and local governments, and long-term commitment.

“This is the latest strategic partnership we’re establishing with mayoralties across the country, strengthening relationships between employers, training providers and local decision-makers, creating a stronger foundation for addressing emerging skills challenges at a local level. The Memorandum of Understanding is an important step towards establishing a National Skills Academy for Construction and ensuring the workforce is ready to meet future demand.”

Skills Centre

Last week, Richard Parker officially opened The Skills Centre at City Centre South, a £450m regeneration project being delivered by The Hill Group to transform Coventry city centre. It is designed to equip local people with the skills needed to access careers in construction and help deliver one of Coventry’s most significant regeneration projects.

Andy Hill OBE, Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said: “The construction industry can only deliver the homes and regeneration projects our communities need if we have the skilled people to build them. The new Skills Centre at City Centre South is a great example of how industry and local partners can work together to give people the skills and confidence to start a career in construction. We welcome this MoU between the CITB and WMCA, which will help create more pathways into the industry and ensure local people can benefit from the significant investment taking place across the region.”

This is the second partnership CITB has agreed with Mayoral Combined Authorities following its agreement with Liverpool City Region. Mayor Steve Rotheram signed a first-of-its-kind agreement to tackle an estimated shortfall of 9,000 construction workers in the Liverpool City Region.

This latest agreement allows West Midlands Combined Authority to analyse live data from building sites across the region to pinpoint skills gaps and train the estimated 12,000 extra workers needed over the next three years.

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