THE challenge of promoting the benefits of construction apprenticeships to appeal to a wider audience of potential new recruits requires a concerted effort from all industry stakeholders.
That’s the view of Ian Hughes, engagement director Scotland at the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), who believes there is still work to do to improve the image of construction and help attract the level of workers required to meet demand.
Ian spoke to Project Scotland ahead of this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week, which shines a spotlight on the benefits of work-based learning. There are currently over 13,000 Modern Apprentices in construction and related occupational groupings in Scotland. CITB helps to recruit some 1,500 apprentices annually north of the border and manages around 5,000 learners at any one time. The organisation is setting up a New Entrant Support Team (NEST) in Scotland later this year following the success of a pilot in England. The team will work with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and employers to help promote careers in the industry and support businesses looking to hire apprentices.
Ian highlighted that, traditionally, most apprentices have been drawn to construction through already knowing someone working in the sector. He said there needs to be a push to make jobs more open and transparent to expand the potential talent pool and attract people from all walks of life.
“With the majority of apprentices – maybe as much as 65-70% – it’s a tap on the shoulder,” Ian stated. “It’s a son, a daughter, a neighbour, somebody you know. That doesn’t bode well in terms of diversity. And it certainly doesn’t bode well in terms of having a wider market (of potential workers) if you’re always only going to employ who you know.
“If it was my business, I would employ my son or daughter if they were interested, so I’m not going to tell anybody not to do that. But there’s still thousands of job opportunities that need to be advertised, that need to be recruited. So how do we target them at a wider audience? That’s something that we’re going to invest in. Hopefully with the support and partnership of Skills Development Scotland, that will begin to make a difference.”
The annual Scottish Apprenticeship Week has become a key focus in raising awareness of opportunities. This year, an event showcasing construction apprenticeships was organised to take place at the Scottish Parliament on March 5.
The event was a chance for elected representatives and policy makers to improve their understanding of the skills, training, and roles on offer, as well as the contribution construction apprentices make to the economy. Speakers were scheduled to include event sponsor Monica Lennon MSP (chair of the cross-party group on construction), Graeme Dey MSP (minister for higher education and further education), Peter Lauener (CITB chair), and Frank Mitchell (SDS chair). Two award-winning apprentices were also due to talk about their learning journey while interactive stalls were to be hosted by some of the industry’s leading players including Built Environment Smarter Transformation (BE-ST), George Leslie, GRAHAM, and McLaughlin & Harvey.
“We want to drive home the message there are jobs, there are careers, there are highly skilled opportunities there, and it’s very, very diverse,” Ian added. “The population we employ might not be diverse, but the jobs are hugely diverse.
“All apprenticeships are global. It’s a proper ticket that offers global opportunities for young people.”
Ian would like to see Modern Apprenticeships given the same kudos as an academic-level degree, believing that giving due recognition to the qualification would help in the challenge of persuading young people and their parents of their value.
“We’ve done a ton of research,” Ian revealed. “We ask parents two questions: Do you think apprenticeships and training in construction is a good thing? The answer is always yes. And would you put your son or daughter through one? No!
“People recognise it as having good income generation opportunities but are still reticent. I think that’s partly to do with the fact that we don’t sell a lot of the positivity around construction as much as we need to. That’s going to take a concerted effort.”
CITB plans to carry out a feasibility study in Scotland to assess demand for pre-apprenticeships, designed to improve retention rates. The organisation has also been working to support delivery of some of the more specialist construction apprenticeship courses following market failure.
“We’ve managed to save things like specialist flooring in Glasgow, stonemasonry in Edinburgh, and one or two others under pressure as well,” Ian explained. “When there is market failure, we will try our utmost to step in to make sure we don’t lose an occupation, because once it goes it’s impossible to get back.
“The big volumetric numbers like engineering, carpentry, bricklaying, painting and decorating – I think they’ll be comfortably safe because they fill the classes. It’s the other ones with smaller numbers that we need to keep a close eye out.”
While CITB has one eye on traditional trades, there is also a strong focus on providing the necessary new and emerging skills to support the decarbonisation of the built environment and Scotland’s net zero ambitions. Ian revealed most apprenticeships now have digital and ‘green’ units built into them.
“A lot of reports coming out recently in terms of delivering net zero in Scotland are flagging up quite clearly that, while a lot of the shortfall of labour will come from upskilling existing workers, there will still be a requirement to have new apprenticeships coming into the system that are less craft/traditional and much more in line with the zero economy and digital economy, and all the policy drivers happening within Scotland.”
Ian added that employers are reluctant to invest in skills, training, and materials unless they can see a market opportunity. With most employers in Scotland being SMEs and micros, and most apprentices being employed by those firms, the challenge will be making modern technologies and approaches accessible to them when they don’t have visibility over how a net zero agenda is going to filter down the supply chain to hit their business at some point.
“Some are well ahead of the curve and are already investing in people and technologies,” Ian added. “The majority, I would suggest, are waiting to see.”
A further challenge revolves around the fact that different regions require different skills. Ian highlighted some of the major infrastructure works due to take place in the Highlands over the next decade, such as road extensions.
“Regionalisation means you don’t have one-size-fits-all when training a workforce; it means you have to be delivering something in the Western Isles or the islands which is quite different from what you might be delivering in Glasgow,” he stated. “There will be commonality but the regional skills model coming through from government, which we support, means you’re going to have to cut your cloth to support those regional needs. That will be a challenge but that’s when you start looking at modern technology, digital working, different ways of operating, and maybe looking at different ways of delivering construction training.”
Overall, Ian is encouraged by what he’s seeing at apprentice level and about the ongoing redevelopment programme of construction apprenticeships, which is being led by SDS.
Laura Brady, development manager (construction) at Skills Development Scotland, is managing the redevelopment initiative. She told Project Scotland that employers and other industry stakeholders have embraced the process and played a key role in helping to shape the future of construction and built environment apprenticeships and ensure they are fit for purpose. Early engagement and collaboration have been crucial.
“It’s quite a significant programme of work across construction and the built environment,” Laura explained. “We started the programme in 2021 to make sure the apprenticeships were responsive and flexible to meet the evolving needs of industry and ensure they can deliver on the net zero transformation.
“After consulting with industry about priorities for the sector, we kicked off with design and contracting; we now have carpentry and joinery underway as well as fitting building interiors. Recently we’ve started plumbing and heating.
“We’ve got four developments in train and another three planned to start later this year. It’s a significant programme in terms of engagement and ultimately, to make the programme a success, it truly does need to be industry-led. At the very heart of that is the employers. It is a national apprenticeship, so we need to make sure it’s fit for purpose across a range of businesses recognising those regional differences Ian mentioned.”
SDS has engaged with businesses large and small, including ones from rural and island locations, and both public and private sector organisations have been represented in the process.
“We also have a significant amount of engagement with apprentices themselves, to understand what the realities of the world of work are within their role as an apprentice in that particular occupation,” Laura added. “And ultimately, it’s the employers and the apprentices who design the occupational standard and collaboration with the wider system stakeholders to support is critical to the success of the development and delivery. We have standard setting bodies, trade federations, unions, learning providers, innovation experts, Scottish Qualifications Authority.”
Describing employers as ‘chomping at the bit’ to get involved, Laura added that businesses clearly see the value of investing in apprentices. As one of the priority entry routes into construction, the courses are critical to delivering the future workforces.
The freshening up of apprenticeships is an ideal opportunity for employers to have their voices heard and influence the changes designed to address both current demands, and those coming down the track.
Laura said one of the things which has come through ‘loud and clear’ across all the developments is the requirement for flexibility in terms of both the model and the qualification that supports that.
Like Ian, she believes events such as Scottish Apprenticeship Week are an important tool in helping to spread the message about the breadth of available opportunities within construction and promote the collaborative work taking place across the sector.
“Apprenticeships sit within the Construction Accord Transformation Plan and this highlights the collaboration across industry from a strategic perspective down to the individual business needs of those involved in the developments.
“In terms of the partnership work, it’s not just about ticking a box to say that we’re working together. It is actually joining up those resources and expertise because ultimately we’re all delivering on the same outcomes for industry, which is those high-quality customer-focused apprenticeships that are attractive to the future workforce.”
