ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry, is calling for more UK contractors to help stimulate a 鈥榮pirit of apprenticeships鈥� throughout the sector鈥檚 supply chain. As part of its annual employer recruitment drive to encourage more businesses to invest in young people, ConstructionSkills is asking how the biggest contractors can use their considerable influence to demonstrate the value apprentices bring to businesses of all sizes.聽
New ConstructionSkills research has revealed that almost a third of companies have slashed their apprenticeship recruitment plans this year because of the recession. Following this news, ConstructionSkills is looking to top contractors to help foster a sector-wide sentiment that apprentices are good for business.聽
ConstructionSkills is looking to more large UK contractors to replicate this approach and open up the dialogue with their supply chains, instilling the 鈥榮pirit of apprenticeships鈥� at the core of industry. With this in mind, Stephen Ratcliffe, Director of the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) reinforces how important large companies鈥� influence is on the supply chain: 鈥淚t is extremely important that we work together to deliver the next generations of apprenticeships, and this is why the UKCG has recently established an apprenticeship task force to look at ways its members could work collectively with their supply chains to promote new entrant training.鈥澛�
Mike Bialyj, Director of Employer Services at ConstructionSkills commented: 鈥淲e desperately need to provide more employers for the would-be apprentices looking to start a career in construction. It is certainly a case of supplying the demand at the moment.聽
鈥淭here is a real need for more employers to take an apprentice on, but many of the smaller companies out there don鈥檛 feel that they have the capacity or time to do so. What we need is for smaller companies to understand the process of taking on an apprentice, what the businesses benefits are and how they can access help and support, both from us, and from larger companies.鈥澛犅�
The failure to invest in apprenticeships now will mean severe skills shortages in the future. Many large contractors already actively choose to invest in smaller firms that share their corporate values, working cultures and commitment to developing talent.
Carl Heslop, a special works manager and apprentice employer at national construction firm Morgan Ashurst, said: 鈥淢organ Ashurst needs a robust supply chain and we鈥檝e spent a lot of time developing ours to ensure that a wide range of different skills are covered by the firms we work with in order to produce the output we need. Apprentices are key to this and a very important part of our culture, so if companies want to work with us it鈥檚 essential for them to demonstrate that they share our values by taking on and developing apprentices.鈥澛犅�
Mick Nelson, Works Manager at BAM Nuttall, said: 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not giving anything back by taking on an apprentice. You鈥檙e actually taking. Every company needs good people for it to prosper and you鈥檙e taking on a good young person, teaching them the skills that your company needs and the culture of the company. Unless you are investing in your future then it鈥檚 very hard to prosper.鈥澛�
Carl Heslopconcluded: 鈥淎pprentices are not just for big companies. It鈥檚 almost more powerful for a smaller company to have apprentices because they鈥檙e so much more part of that business.鈥澛�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
