Through its new Partner a College programme, the Home Builders Federation (HBF) aims to help students on full-time construction courses achieve better career outcomes
The pilot will last for two years and aims to bridge the gap between education and employment by developing stronger partnerships between home builders and colleges.
Findings indicate that currently, fewer than 40% of construction students enter the industry.
The programme will work with colleges to ensure that curriculum content for learners aligns with on-site demands, including skills both on the work site and in the office.
Selected colleges for the programme include:
- Oaklands College
- Loughborough College/SMB College Group
- Hugh Baird College
- Preston College
- Moulton College
- York College
- West Suffolk College
- Moreton Morrell College
- Walsall College
- Nottingham College
The selected colleges will work with at least one of the following home builders:
- Barratt Redrow
- Keepmoat
- Anwyl Homes
- The Hill Group
- Untypical
- Davidson Homes
- The Tara Group
- Taylor Wimpey
- Wienerberger
- Ibstock Plc
Funding will be provided by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and falls under the HBF’s Home Building Sector Skills Plan.
Andy George, director of skills and attraction at Home Builders Federation, said: “The Partner a College programme is another example of how industry is taking decisive action to future-proof its workforce and ensure that new entrants are properly equipped to thrive in their careers.
“By embedding real industry insight into education, we’re giving students a clearer, more practical route into home building, and giving employers a stronger, more reliable pipeline of talent. It’s a proactive model for tackling the skills gap, and it’s great to see interest in the programme and this model growing across the sector.”
Turning the corner on the skills gap?
In August, David Barnes, head of policy and public affairs at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), wrote for PBC Today regarding whether government actions to date are on the right track to fixing the skills crisis in construction.
David wrote: “Professional roles are vital to delivering construction projects at all scales, and more of a focus on this aspect of the construction workforce will be necessary. CITB’s recently published Construction Workforce Outlook 2025-29 reports that while there is a gap in skilled tradespeople, there is a greater gap across professional, managerial and office-based roles in construction.
“Nonetheless, building up a skilled workforce in these areas will take time. Even with efforts to train people in these fields, the industry will be flooded with inexperienced
workers that do not hold the sufficient skills, knowledge, experience or behaviours to deliver more complex or larger projects. This is an issue left unaddressed in recent announcements, and the government must carefully consider a lack of experience in its efforts to rapidly grow the workforce – especially in an era with greater emphasis on industry competence.
“Unless you are a senior Labour politician, you are unlikely to agree that the target of 1.5m homes this parliament can be achieved. However, these genuine efforts to tackle the construction skills challenge head-on will hopefully support this rate of housebuilding in the longer term.
“Crucially, recent announcements demonstrate a greater openness at the highest levels of government to engage with the realities of the construction industry and its capacity to deliver the government’s building plans. There is a growing recognition that policy must be coordinated and responsive to industry if we are to “get Britain building” at the scale demanded.
“Though only time will tell on the effectiveness of these interventions, it is exciting to see the government get started on this long-overdue transformation of the construction skills landscape.”
The post HBF launches new pilot construction students programme appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
