Deputy Prime Minister and Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall attend inaugural Construction Skills Mission Board attended by CEOs from across the sector, launching industry commitment to recruit 100,000 more construction workers per year by the end of the Parliament.
Partnership between Jobcentres and the industry to give more people the skills they need to start fulfilling careers.
Marks a significant step in delivering the Plan for Change commitment to build 1.5 million new homes, which is underpinned by £39 billion for affordable and social housing over ten years announced at Spending Review.
Roles ranging from project managers to bricklayers will be made available to jobseekers thanks to the agreement, which will mean Jobcentres working more closely with the construction industry to offer work experience and tailored placements to meet the need of employers and people looking to start a fulfilling career.
The agreement signed earlier this week at the newly-launched Green Plant Academy at the Earl’s Court Skills Centre, by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Department for Work and Pensions, is a major step in the government’s drive to get Britain building and get Britain working as part of its Plan for Change.
More than 40,000 industry placements will be funded through a further £100 million from the government, alongside a £32 million contribution from the CITB.
This comes alongside a £1 billion employment support package to support more disabled people and those with health conditions back into work. This is a quadrupling of the level of annual spend on supporting sick and disabled people into work, from the £275 million in 2024/25 we inherited, to over £1 billion in 2029/30.
It comes as the Deputy Prime Minister will co-chair the first Construction Skills Mission Board with Mark Reynolds, Co-Chair of the Construction Leadership Council today, where, alongside Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall, Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, Minister for Industry Sarah Jones, and several CEOs and sector leaders, they will launch an industry commitment to recruit 100,000 more construction workers per year by the end of the Parliament. This will be a step-change for the construction sector, creating good jobs across the country to deliver on government’s housing and infrastructure commitments, including building 1.5 million homes over this Parliament and delivery of the 10-year infrastructure strategy.
Ministers will highlight major reforms to transform Jobcentres as well as the £625 million investment to tackle skills shortages in the construction sector – expected to create up to 60,000 more jobs for engineers, electricians and joiners by the end of the parliament.
