National House Building Council responds to Government’s Skills Reform announcement

“Today’s announcement signals a major and welcome shift in how we train the next generation of skilled workers, particularly in house building, one of the UK’s most critical industries.

With 120,000 new training opportunities and a £3 billion apprenticeship budget, the Government is rightly focusing on providing young people with access to high-quality, hands-on routes into skilled work. As the UK’s largest warranty and insurance provider, quality is at the heart of everything we do and we’re pleased to see this reflected in the Government’s plan.

Our £100 million investment in 12 new multi-skill apprenticeship training hubs across the UK over the next five years will shake-up and help to tackle the house building skills shortage head-on. At capacity, the NHBC Training Hubs will initially train 3,000 learners a year in the most essential and critically required trades, including bricklaying, carpentry and groundwork. The multi-skill training hubs prepare trainees to be site-ready from day one, trained to the highest industry standard and so ensuring new homes are built to the highest quality.

In addition to apprenticeships, the NHBC Multi-Skill Training Hubs will deliver construction skills bootcamps, providing flexible, fast-track and immersive training for people looking to enter or progress within the house-building industry. This blended approach ensures we can support a wide range of learners and employers with high-quality, practical training.

We also welcome the Government’s wider investment in foundation apprenticeships and the expansion of adult training. These initiatives will play a vital role in rebuilding a strong, domestic workforce.

This is about more than just getting people into jobs. It is also about delivering homes of quality that meet the nation’s needs and expectations.”

Roger Morton, Director of Business Change at the National House Building Council (NHBC)