There is increasing recognition that the UK’s biggest challenge is productivity growth, and that apprenticeships can play an important part in improving this long-term productivity.
The government continues to announce new initiatives that build on its earlier commitment to create three million apprenticeships in England by 2020. With the UK facing a severe shortage of skills and the baby boom generation edging towards retirement, there is a growing need to broaden the definition of an apprentice.
Growing construction skills
Supporting apprenticeships is a central theme of the recently published Government Construction Strategy 2016 – 2020, which aims to deliver 20,000 apprenticeships through central government construction procurement during this Parliament. Measuring the creation of apprenticeships through public procurement will certainly go some way to encouraging companies to establish apprenticeship programmes.
But for the construction industry to meet this quota, a wider reach encompassing apprentices with differing levels of experience will likely be required. Apprenticeships should not always be defined as an alternative to higher education aimed at school leavers, as experienced-based learning is vital across all levels to support skills development.
Of course, many companies operating in the construction sector already have established apprenticeship and training programmes. Within the professional business services sector, for example, AECOM is hiring more apprentices and higher apprentices than ever before in 2016, with the vast majority working in technical engineering roles.
The company is also working to extend its definition of apprentices, with a core focus on skills development. Last year AECOM University was launched, which provides employees with online courses enabling them to learn new concepts or brush up on existing skills by taking refresher courses and solve on-the-job problems in real time. Content is available 24 hours a day on employees’ desktops, tablets and mobile devices to reflect modern-day working patterns. More than 5,000 interactive courses and 33,000 reference sets are available, spanning leadership development, professional development and essential learning. Initiatives like this can help companies deliver experienced-based training to all employees.
Construction and consultancy company Mace also has established apprenticeship and training programmes. In recent years, more than 900 apprentices have been hired through its projects, with a strong focus on delivering a skills legacy for the UK and London. Over the past decade it has helped over 21,000 out of work people across its projects and frameworks. Focusing on longer term local opportunities is an important way for businesses to create a lasting legacy from individual projects.
Loss of traditional skills
Skills development is undoubtedly vital for the future prosperity of the UK construction sector, particularly given the UK’s aging building stock and infrastructure challenges. But with only a small percentage of building stock refreshed year on year, the country is at risk of losing traditional skills such as building conservation and stone masonry.
There is also, however, an increasing need to embrace new technologies such as building information modelling (BIM). The application of both traditional and new construction skills to new technologies is therefore necessary. With many in the existing workforce nearing retirement, apprenticeships will be an important vehicle to help build some of these skills. The definition of an apprenticeship must be broadened to build both traditional and new skills wherever in the work/life journey our citizens are.