Results Day: Lack of funding for vocational careers exacerbating national skills crisis
While A-level results day is a moment of celebration for millions wishing to pursue future academic and careers prospects, those wishing to take a more vocational path are under increasing threat, with the number of construction apprentices on a rapid decline.
As of 2017, the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced across the UK which is a form of taxation designed to help companies offer more apprenticeships, yet a report by Police Exchange unveiled that the £4.3 billion raised by the levy since 2018 has not been spent on apprenticeships leading to a nationwide shortage of skills. The London Assembly Economy Committee (LAEC) showed that 18% fewer people began construction apprenticeships in London in 2020/21 than in 2017/18. Construction expert and broadcaster of Fix Radio - the UK's only national radio station dedicated to tradespeople - Clive Holland, discusses how the growing decline of apprentices is impacting the construction industry.
The 2023 Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report found that 48% of UK adults were never presented with a career in the trades as a job option during school. With this in mind, concerning data from the Department for Education stats show the number of completed apprenticeships in England fell from 12,420 in 2018 to 7,700 in 2022 limiting the much-needed extra recruits for the construction sector. A national study commissioned by Fix Radio also unveiled that close to a third of small businesses in the sector on the brink of collapse, with tradespeople desperate for more young people to enter the construction industry. Highlighting the significance of the issue in a microcosm, each year 17,500 people apply for apprenticeships as an electrician, yet only 2,500 pass their course annually, with a further 8,000 electricians leaving the industry every year.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the construction sector experienced the second-highest percentage of worker shortages at the end of last year. Now, concerns for the future of the construction industry are being raised as the sector needs an extra 225,000 workers by 2027 to keep up with demand.
Clive Holland, broadcaster on Fix Radio, commented on the status of apprenticeships in the trades: "In the United Kingdom, we've got over 1.3 million unemployed in this country, if that is the case, that is quite a shock. In the background, if over one million people are unemployed and there's all these job vacancies that need filling in the construction industry, I think the age limit for apprenticeship funding should be wiped out now.
"If one day, someone woke up and fancied working in construction, you would have to start from scratch. You couldn't afford to be on an apprentice wage, the company taking you on couldn't afford to build that money up for you, so therefore, you get overlooked.
"Not everybody is available to provide more than an apprenticeship wage, they need government support to be able to do that. That is the same for bricklayers, gas service engineers or electricians, if the government asked all of our construction industry and individual trades to work throughout COVID, it's now time to thank them. I think now is the time to go ‘here's the support’. The Government can focus on apprentices and get people into schools and colleges to talk about the industry and the positives of becoming a tradesperson."
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