Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of apprentices going into construction to keep up with existing demand.

As the economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, it is more important than ever that businesses in the construction sector are equipped and empowered to recruit the right people and develop the skills that they need to build the right things better, greener, and faster than before.

To support new apprenticeship starts, employers in all sectors are now able to claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 before 31 March 2021, in recognition of the particular impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the employment prospects of this group, and £1,500 for new apprentices aged 25 and over.

There are currently 105 high-quality apprenticeship standards in construction available for employers to use. We are working closely with the construction sector to make sure that businesses can take advantage of the benefits of apprenticeships. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to enable young people to progress from Kickstart onto an apprenticeship and create another entry route into the construction sector.

As part of our commitment to expand apprenticeship opportunities, we have set out plans to improve the transfers system so that unspent levy funds can better support apprenticeships in small and medium sized enterprises. We are working with the construction sector so that apprenticeships can better recognise prior learning and experience and enable certain construction apprentices to complete their apprenticeship more quickly. From April 2021 employers in construction will be able to front-load training for certain apprenticeship standards. In addition, we are working with employers to develop a bespoke construction traineeship, to further support young people entering the construction industry.

Through the Construction Skills Delivery Group, we are collaborating with industry leaders to develop and deliver these policies. This work contributes to ‘Project-Speed’ – a cross-Whitehall Taskforce, led by my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which will accelerate, improve and reduce the costs of developing, designing and delivering vital economic and social infrastructure projects.