Rosalind Thorpe, director of education and standards at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), discusses the future of apprenticeships and the Institute’s work to support them
I, like many others, was shocked and saddened upon reading Alan Milburn’s recent ‘Young People and Work’ review, which highlighted how almost a million people aged between 16 and 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training. This is a tragedy for those people and for society.
At a time when the construction sector continues to face huge challenges with recruitment and converting trainees into fully skilled workers, it’s clear and obvious that industry, government and educators must work better together to create opportunities and clear pathways into the sector. These pathways need to appeal to young people, not place burdens on employers’ time and finances, and result in a talent pipeline that feeds competent and work-ready people into jobs. The jobs that are needed to deliver the quality homes and infrastructure the country has been promised in a safe and sustainable way.
The future of construction apprenticeships
One obvious pathway is apprenticeships – once a popular, well-promoted option for young people looking to get straight into a paid job while also gaining qualifications, they have in more recent decades lost parity with university education. This has drained the sectors that came to rely on apprentices as the main source of new workers, construction being a prime example. Yet many of the industry’s current leaders, including Tier 1 contractor CEOs, started their careers “on the tools” as apprentices and have gone on to forge highly successful careers. They are examples of why apprenticeships should not be seen as any less valuable than more academic paths.
Thankfully though, perceptions are beginning to change. Well-documented media reports of university students being saddled with tens of thousands of pounds of debt, which seemingly grows rather than reduces as they make repayments, and graduates struggling to find jobs at the end of their courses, are making people see the benefit of earn-while-you-learn career pathways.
In a survey of 2,001 parents of 16-24-year-olds we carried out in February this year, 42% said they’d prefer their child to earn while they learn instead of attending full-time university, while 75% said they’d be supportive of their child working in the construction sector. Asked about which career options they had discussed with their children, 58% of the parents said they had discussed apprenticeships, the most of all the options they were given.
So, while we should be encouraged by the level of enthusiasm that seems to exist around construction careers and in particular, apprenticeships, I am, however, very aware that there are many barriers discouraging employers, particularly SMEs, from hiring apprentices.
There’s also the issue of retention. It’s a known fact that dropout rates on construction apprenticeships are higher than in many other industries, with almost half (47%) not completing the course according to the British Association of Construction Heads. It’s a worrying statistic, which is why I’m very much in favour of using data on completions rather than starts as the main metric for measuring how successful apprenticeship programmes are. The reasons behind the dropout rates are varied, but it’s clear the whole process from start to finish needs to be better for learners and employers if we’re to ensure more young people who start an apprenticeship actually finish it and go on to work in the industry.
How the CIOB is working to break down barriers and improve accessibility
Firstly, access to centres for learning, such as colleges, can be a barrier for apprentices if they don’t drive, transport links are poor where they live, or public transport costs are high. Secondly, we know many employers find it frustrating having to release their apprentices on a set day each week, which may take them away from the office or site at critical times. Rigid written assessment processes can also be off-putting for some apprentices.
To overcome these problems, CIOB’s apprenticeships are designed to give learners and employers greater control, with all learning undertaken online and flexibility around when it happens and how it is assessed.
We currently offer apprenticeships in:
- Level 3 Construction Support Technician
- Level 4 Construction Site Supervisor
- Level 4 Construction Quantity Surveying Technician
- Level 4 Construction Design and Build Technician
- Level 6 Construction Site Management
- Level 6 Design and Construction Management
- Level 6 Design, Construction and Management Degree Apprenticeship (validated by De Montfort University)
Like all apprenticeships, all learning must be done within work hours (as per the funding rules) and a minimum of six hours a week must be given to the apprentice as off the job time (OTJ), but unlike colleges and universities that require learners to attend on a set day each week, we allow the employer and learner to decide between themselves which day of the week works for them to do their online learning. They can even choose to spread this out over two half days, for example. Employers and learners can also jointly agree a higher number of off-the-job hours to reduce the duration of the apprenticeship if they want to.
We also believe flexibility within the course schedule is important, so for each individual apprentice other than those on the Degree Apprenticeship, we can move modules around to suit business requirements and align their learning to workplace activities. For example, if a learner is involved in the procurement stage of a project, we can shift the procurement module backwards or forwards in the course schedule, so it is studied at the same time as that work takes place. In my view, this provides a more relevant and real experience for apprentices who can more easily relate theory to a real workplace scenario or piece of work.
Stepping away from exams
Having worked in education all my career, I appreciate how, for some learners, the idea of formal assessment can be daunting and a source of anxiety, which in some cases puts them off learning altogether, so we have also designed our apprenticeships with several assessment options. Not every assignment needs to be a written piece of work, so if a learner would prefer to be assessed in a different format such as a presentation or a professional discussion with their learning coach, for example, they can. Feedback from our apprentices is that this flexible option makes our apprenticeships more accessible to learners and, in particular, those for whom lots of written work is a struggle.
That’s not to say apprenticeships aren’t still hard work. They are, and they should be. The industry rightly expects that apprentices are competent, work-ready, and will add value to their business.
This is one reason why we always encourage every single one of our apprentices to keep learning and developing once they enter full-time work. On successful completion of their apprenticeship, they qualify for full CIOB membership, giving them access to a wealth of benefits that will support their career and future learning. Throughout their apprenticeship, they receive free CIOB student membership.
We know that making apprenticeships more flexible is only one way to encourage employers to consider hiring an apprentice. Another barrier we hear lots about is funding.
We try to support employers as much as possible by helping them understand the funding options available to them. New funding incentives mean that from 1 August apprentices under 25-years-old will be fully funded for non-levy payers. Currently, employers can access a £1,000 incentive for hiring someone aged 16-18, or 19-24 with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and from October SMEs can access a £2,000 incentive for hiring an apprentice aged 16-24. There is also an additional £3,000 available for those who hire a 16–24-year-old who has been unemployed for more than six months.
With the arrival of Andy Burnham as the new Prime Minister and his devolution agenda, it will be interesting to see how skills training and funding will be impacted. There is a strong case for devolving more skills funding and decision-making to combined and local authorities as well as empowering mayors to work closer with local employers, educators and trainers to tackle local skills gaps and enable opportunities. CIOB has consistently acknowledged that regional leaders are best placed to understand local demand and the skills required to deliver priorities like retrofitting, so we’ll await further information from the Prime Minister on how devolution can help tackle the skills challenges across the built environment.
From his early speeches, it certainly sounds like new homes, particularly social housing, will be a priority for Burnham’s government, and he’s already called for greater parity between academic and technical education, so it’s positive he understands how the two are linked. While we await further details on the vocational pathways he wants to introduce for young people aged 14 and upwards, it’s good to see measures will be introduced to ensure families on benefits will not be disadvantaged financially by their child undertaking an apprenticeship. This should encourage more to consider it as an option. Hopefully it won’t be long until we see apprenticeships promoted to young people in schools as respectable further and higher education options, along with the range of industries, including construction, of course, where apprenticeships can lead to highly successful careers.
For more information about CIOB’s apprenticeships, visit www.ciob.org/learning-apprenticeships. Intakes are in March, June and September, but start dates can be flexible.
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