Skills
Read online at www . proinstaller . co . uk
OCTOBER 2018 | 29
Skills
SKILLS SHORTAGE WILL HAMPER HOUSING DELIVERY
Small house builders predict that skills shortages in the building industry will hamper housing delivery and will eventually overtake access to finance as a bigger barrier to building new homes , according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders ( FMB ).
Key results from the FMB ’ s House Builders ’ Survey 2018 , the only annual assessment of small and medium sized ( SME ) house builders in England , include :
• The percentage of SME house builders saying that a shortage of skilled workers is a major barrier to their ability to build more new homes rose to 44 % ( up from 42 % in 2017 );
• A lack of available and viable land tops the list as the most commonly cited barrier ( 59 %) to increasing housing delivery and almost twothirds of SME house builders ( 62 %) believe that the number of opportunities for small site development are actually decreasing ( up from 54 % in 2017 );
• Nearly half of small house builders ( 46 %) say access to finance is a major barrier to their ability to build more new homes ;
• More than half ( 51 %) of SME house builders view the planning system as a major constraint on their ability to grow and ‘ inadequate resourcing of planning departments ’ was again rated as the most significant cause of delay in the planning application process for the third year in a row ;
• When asked to look ahead over the next three years , more firms cited skills shortages as a likely barrier to growth than access to finance .
www . fmb . org . uk
Chancellor right to make Apprenticeship Levy more flexible
The Chancellor is right to make the Apprenticeship Levy more flexible , so that it works for strategic industries such as the construction sector , but his reforms have not gone far enough , according to the Federation of Master Builders ( FMB ).
Responding to the Chancellor ’ s speech at the Conservative Party Conference , Brian Berry , Chief Executive of the FMB , said : “ The Chancellor has , in part , listened to the concerns of business by making the Apprenticeship Levy more flexible . However , he needs to go much further . Currently ten per cent of Levy vouchers can be passed down through the supply chain from large firms to smaller firms and today , he increased this to 25 per cent . This is important as in construction , it ’ s the small firms that do the bulk of the training while the large firms don ’ t tend to directly employ or train tradespeople . Since the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced last year , apprenticeship starts have fallen in the construction trades by more than ten per cent .
Given that the construction industry is already suffering from an acute skills shortage , this is very worrying indeed . If the Chancellor is serious about ensuring the Levy has the desired effect , and increases meaningful training across all sectors , it should go further and make 100 percent of the vouchers transferable from large to small companies .”
www . fmb . org . uk
Stephanie Tague appointed as Head of Building Our Skills
The two key organisations behind Building Our Skills – Making Fenestration a Career of Choice , the newly launched awareness campaign to attract youngsters and newcomers to join the Fenestration industry , have appointed Stephanie Tague to head up the campaign . Industry awarding body , GQA Qualifications Limited and specialist Fenestration Marketing and PR agency Inside The Box Marketing have seen an overwhelming and supportive response for the initiative since its launch in June this year .
Mick Clayton , CEO for GQA Qualifications commented : “ GQA has proactively promoted the development and training of youngsters and newcomers to provide practical training and qualifications for the last 25-years . However , lately we have seen a significant shortage of young people looking for a career in Fenestration - creating a widening skills gap within the industry .
Chris Globe , Director for Inside The Box Marketing , comments : “ Stephanie is a very well-known figure , having worked alongside many renowned businesses over her 20-year career in the industry . Her energy and drive are perfect to take this campaign forward .”
www . buildingourskills . co . uk