West Midlands second worst region for apprenticeship starts

There were 2,120 construction and trade apprentices starting placements in the West Midlands in 2021-2022 – around eight per cent of the total in England.

That's the second lowest of all the English regions, despite it accounting for more than £9 billion in construction output

It has been identified as one of the UK key regions for tackling a shortage of trade and construction skills

London is bottom of the league for apprenticeship starters despite its huge construction needs.

The new report has been released ahead of the launch of two major new projects being spearheaded by Checkatrade.com and Walsall-based HomeServe founder and entrepreneur Richard Harpin to get more young people into trades.

The report found that just 1,830 construction apprentices started placements in the capital in 2021-2022 – just 7.1 per cent of the total in England.

The UK Trade Skills Index 2023 was commissioned by trades directory Checkatrade.com and undertaken by leading independent macro-economic research firm Capital Economics.

It found that a “perfect storm” is facing the UK construction and repairs industry, with a huge skills gap and trade sector vacancies at record highs.

The skills gap is being exacerbated by an ageing workforce, an exodus of EU workers post-Brexit, and the cost-of-living crisis.

It found that the UK needs almost a million new recruits in trades and construction over the next decade just to keep pace with demand.

Mr Harpin, the founder of HomeServe, which acquired Checkatrade.com in 2017, described the situation as both “urgent and alarming”.

He and Checkatrade.com are spearheading a series of new projects aiming to tackle the challenge, focused on school leavers and young people aged under 25.

This spring, they will unite to launch Get In, a new campaign aimed at getting thousands more young people aged 16 to 25 into trades careers through apprenticeships. Get In will seek to capture young people’s CVs and connect them to opportunities within Checkatrade.com’s membership base, as well as large trade employers and SME trade businesses.

The new campaign will be piloted in the South East, before a planned national roll-out.

Mr Harpin said: “The figures revealed today in our UK Trade Skills Index 2023 report should come as a wakeup call to everyone involved in the trade and construction industry, particularly in London.

“Although we expect the economy to continue to be squeezed in 2023, the construction sector is finding itself in an increasingly alarming situation caused by Brexit, an ageing workforce and the cost-of-living crisis. Combined, this is creating a perfect storm in the industry, and causing a widening skills gap, which we must address.

“Let us be in no doubt: the sector faces urgent and concerning challenges now and over the next decade. It’s incumbent on both businesses and Government to come together and act before it’s too late.”

It is the third year in a row the annual UK Trade Skills Index has been published. It said that of the 937,000 tradespeople reported to be needed to meet demand within the next decade, nearly a quarter of a million – 244,000 – must be qualified apprentices in order to plug a growing skills gap.

The report also laid bare concerning statistics regarding output and employment in construction. It suggested the skills gap could lead to a further blow to the Government, which is expected to miss its housebuilding target of 300,000 new homes each year.

Most pressingly, it said vacancies in the trades are now at record highs, with widespread shortages particularly prevalent among plumbers, bricklayers, carpenters and electricians.

The UK has seen a sharp rise in skills shortages across construction – from 29 per cent at the start of 2021 to 55 per cent at the end of the year 2021 – and these shortages persisted through 2022.