Sarah Jones MP: The Gov't has 'catastrophically' failed to do the right thing on skills
Federation of Master Builders
3 min read
Speaking at a Labour conference panel discussion, hosted by the Federation of Master Builders, Shadow Housing Minister Sarah Jones joined experts to discuss how innovation in the construction industry can plug the skills shortage and combat the negative effects of austerity.
Addressing the audience at the Monday fringe event in Liverpool, "21st Century Construction Skills: Can Innovation Plug The Skills Gap?", the Shadow Minister for Housing Sarah Jones described how the current government is actively undermining skills.
She described the apprenticeship levy as "clunky" and said that instead of encouraging apprenticeships it had in fact reduced the number of people who have an apprenticeship in the construction industry.
Sarah Jones MP was joined on the panel by Gail Cartmail, Assistant General Secretary of the union, Unite, Colette O’Shea, Managing Director of LandSec and Sarah McMonagle, Director of External Affairs at the Federation of Master Builders.
The MP described how the issues resulting from the current failures of the government to address the skills gap will be soon further impacted by the "looming paralysis" of a no-deal Brexit. Such a deal would be catastrophic for the construction sector and inevitably lead to a skills shortage, she warned.
Technological innovation
FMB’s Sarah McMonagle said that embracing innovation, for example through technology, was key to attracting more young people into the industry.
This was a point agreed on by Colette O’Shea, who stated that more investment was needed in this area.
However, despite the enthusiasm for tech both McMonagle and O’Shea cautioned that technological advances, such as off-site construction, were not the answer to everything, including the skills shortage.
The MP for Croydon Central also spoke of the challenges posed to skills in the sector by technology, warning that the impact of automation was going to present challenge for the sector. Automation, she said was the, “the fourth industrial revolution” and will require the industry to develop "the right skills base" to succeed.
Quality apprenticeships
The "muddy boots" reputation of the industry was pinpointed as a key problem when it comes to attracting youth to construction, and too often it was seen as "the sector of last resort". Sarah McMonagle said this was partly the fault of society in general, as all too often those who pursue academic education are put “on a pedestal too much” and those who pursue vocational education are continued to be looked down upon.
McMonagle called on a potential future Labour government to tackle this issue by increasing the quality of apprenticeships.
Sarah Jones MP praised FMB’s proposed builders licensing scheme, which she said would go a long way, "to raise the reputation of the sector and encourage more people to get involved."
Cartmail in particular wanted to see a scaling up of job-based apprenticeships, stating that there is an appetite for vocation learning, but that currently there are, "insufficient opportunities created in the industry", especially she said, for those from a BAME background women.
McMonagle also called on them to make the apprenticeship levy more flexible, stating that the levy is not currently working for them and that they want to see vouchers passed down to the supply chain from larger firms to smaller firms.
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