Construction training fails to meet retrofit workforce needs, report reveals

The current construction training system is failing to meet retrofit workforce needs, according to the latest report from Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). 

The report, launched in Westminster on 7th July, set out the scale of the challenge to upgrade the UK’s ageing housing stock and train new workers to improve homes and meet the Government’s Warm Homes Plan.

The Repair, Maintenance and Improvement (Retrofit) Sector Skills Plan highlighted gaps in current training provision and the need for a competent workforce to deliver energy-efficient upgrades across the UK’s housing stock.

The report noted that there is not a ‘skills gap’ that can be easily resolved by simply putting on more training courses. 

It found that the construction sector operated in a ‘low skills equilibrium’ with low real demand for higher skills, and training was often treated as a short-term or discretionary activity.

The research found that training provision was fragmented and driven by short-term funding, not long-term investment in the workforce. 

Many workers entered the sector with little or no formal training and learned on the job.

Short courses were popular but not always suitable.