Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Government must act as construction apprenticeship starts drop by 44%

The Government must review its approach to apprenticeships following new statistics published which show that construction apprenticeship starts have plummeted by almost half.

According to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), in March 2019 there were only 694 Construction, Planning and the Built Environment apprenticeship starts compared with 1,247 in March 2018.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said “Construction apprenticeship starts have suffered a serious hit and we now need decisive action from the Government in order to reverse this decline. The Government must accept the recommendation made in the Review of Post-18 Education and Funding, to make provision for full funding, at all ages, for first qualifications at Level 2 and 3. The Government is uniquely placed to drive the apprenticeship agenda, and if Ministers want to achieve their target of three million apprenticeship starts by the end of next year, they must review apprenticeship policy, including the Apprenticeship Levy.”

“Of course the construction industry itself must do more to rally around a shared ambition to promote the industry and all its merits, such as innovation, design and entrepreneurship. The drop in starts by almost half should sound the alarm that we aren’t doing enough to get the message out there. If we don’t address the skills shortage by increasing training and apprenticeships, the construction industry won’t be able to expand and grow. Introducing a mandatory licensing scheme for UK construction could help create the culture change our industry needs by improving our reputation through increased quality and professionalism and thus make us more attractive to new entrants.”

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Nearly 60% of people wrongly assume millenials are hopeless around the house

Well over half of people wrongly assume that millennials are useless when it comes to carrying out practical jobs around the home, according to research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

The latest research by the FMB shows that despite well over half (57%) of Brits thinking that millennials are inept, the following shows the top ten jobs 18-34 year olds have completed:

  • 70% have defrosted a freezer
  • 66% have hung picture or photo frames on a wall
  • 63% have put together flat-pack furniture
  • 58% have painted a wall or piece of furniture
  • 57% have hung curtains
  • 49% have watched a DIY ‘how to’ video
  • 48% have sewn a button
  • 44% have bled a radiator
  • 43% have changed a fuse in a plug
  • 36% have put up a shelf

Commenting on the research, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “Society is wrong to assume that the technical know-how of your typical millennial begins and ends with their smart phone. Well over half of Brits think that those aged 18-34 fall short when it comes to carrying out hands-on tasks around the home. There’s a popular misconception that most young people rely on their parents to complete jobs around the house for them – either through a lack of interest or a lack of ability, or both. However, our research shows that millennials are handier than many give them credit for. Two thirds of young people have hung picture or photo frames on the wall and nearly as many have put together flat-pack furniture and painted something. It’s particularly impressive that half of all young people have been proactive enough to watch a DIY ‘how to’ online video rather than waiting for someone they know the show them or complete the task on their behalf.”

“Although we applaud young people for getting stuck in, it’s important that all generations know their limits when it comes to DIY and home improvements. It’s one thing bleeding a radiator and quite another attempting to knock down a wall or removing a structural beam. Our advice is to refrain from undertaking tasks that are better performed by a professional builder. If home owners are looking to hire a builder, and aren’t able to extract a reliable recommendation from a family member or friend, they should use the FMB’s ‘Find a Builder’ service. All new members of the FMB are vetted and independently inspected before joining and so consumers can rest assured that they’ll be working with a professional and quality builder.”

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Industry must respond to Brexit skills challenge

Exclusive research from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) shows that one in three firms are already feeling the impact of Brexit. This creates an urgent need for industry and government to collaborate on Brexit-related skills challenges.

CITB’s Green Paper – Migration in the UK Construction and Built Environment Sector – found that while a growing number of employers are feeling the effects of Brexit like staff shortages and fewer clients, less than a third have taken action as it approaches, or even plan on doing so.

The report found that:

  • One in three construction employers are feeling the impact of Brexit, up 9% from last year
  • Nearly half expect the recruitment of skilled workers to become more difficult over the next two years. Just 4% expect this to get easier
  • Less than a third has taken action as Brexit approaches, or plan on doing so
  • Only 8% of surveyed employers who have started making Brexit contingency plans said they will increase training
  • Keeping hold of the workers they currently employ is the most important aim to employers in the run-up to Brexit

CITB’s data, collated from 244 migrant workers, 400 employers and 50 recruitment agents, follows recent Labour Force Survey data. It provides fresh evidence to help inform decision-making by the UK Government, the construction sector and CITB in the run up to, and following, Brexit.

The data will inform CITB’s work with employers, the Construction Leadership Council and Government in developing a plan to secure the skills the industry needs for the future.

Commenting on the Green Paper, Steve Radley, Policy Director at CITB, said “With Brexit approaching, construction employers are expecting the recruitment of skilled workers to get harder as they anticipate restrictions on access to migrant workers. However, few employers are making firm plans to address this and instead are focusing on retaining their existing migrant workforce.

“This Green Paper highlights the need for a twin-track strategy – investing in the domestic workforce while enabling employers to continue to secure the vital talent of migrant workers. With an estimated 158,000 construction jobs to be created between now and 2022, it is critical that industry works together to deliver its part of this strategy.”

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CITB sets out solutions to construction industry skills challenges

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has set out its plans to help the industry meet critical skills challenges and secure its future workforce.

CITB’s business plan for 2019-2021 responds to industry’s demands for it to become more strategic and better focused.

The plan outlines the ‘Big Six’ skills challenges, based on research and insight from construction employers across Great Britain.

They include:

  • making construction an attractive career to a broader range of recruits
  • developing a ‘site-ready’ workforce
  • getting more construction learners to join the industry
  • growing the number and diversity of apprentices
  • helping smaller firms invest in the training that can transform their business
  • boosting the number of assessors for vocational qualifications

With an ageing workforce and the potential of losing EU workers, the industry critically needs a new generation of skilled, motivated workers. So CITB is launching a nationwide careers campaign that will attract and inspire many more recruits from all walks of life.

This big, bold campaign will highlight the many fantastic and well-paid career opportunities available, reaching groups who have traditionally been underrepresented in the industry. It will provide clear information on how to get into construction, including through apprenticeships and work experience, and will showcase the support available, such as higher CITB funding rates for apprenticeships.

Construction firms also say they struggle to find site-ready recruits. CITB will tackle this head-on by expanding the Construction Skills Fund initiative launched last year, which is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by CITB.

With 26 onsite hubs now running across England, CITB will use industry funding to create a further 20 hubs to extend the scheme to Scotland, Wales and other regions in England. These new hubs will give thousands of local people valuable onsite experience, and deliver the work-ready candidates employers need.

Construction now has more than a million small and medium sized employers, making them essential contributors to the sector and the economy. Yet many smaller firms operate on wafer-thin profit margins, making it hard for them to invest in the training that can transform their business.

In 2018 CITB helped over 1400 smaller employers access £6m in training support through its Skills and Training Fund. In the coming year, we will continue to invest by growing this fund to £8m, reaching 1900 firms.

CITB Chief Executive Sarah Beale said “Our Business Plan identifies the most pressing skills challenges we face as an industry, and sets out the detail of how CITB will work with partners to address them.

“We’ve built the plan by listening to employers and their needs, and making sure CITB is focused on a small number of really critical projects that it is best placed to deliver, whilst improving our services too.

“Working with employers, learners and education, I’m confident that this plan will help transform construction and make it fit for the future.”

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Labour to make climate change core part of school curriculum

Labour is announcing that climate change will be a core part of the curriculum from primary school onwards. The announcement comes on the same day that the UK Climate Strike Network hosts more school strikes across the country.

Under plans set out by Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner, the next Labour government will ensure all young people are educated about the ecological and social impact of climate change.

A review of the curriculum will also make certain that it focuses on the knowledge and skills that young people need in a world that will be increasingly shaped by climate change, particularly in renewable energy and green technology jobs.

Climate change adaptation and mitigation will drastically increase future demand for the knowledge and skills required for the green jobs of the future, with these skills severely underrepresented in the current curriculum.

As part of the review, an expert panel will consider how climate change and its impact are taught from primary school onwards.

One of the key demands of the climate school strikes is that the national curriculum is reformed to address the ecological crisis as an educational priority. Currently, teaching climate change is restricted to Chemistry and Geography in Key Stages 3 and 4.

Under the Conservatives, the curriculum has narrowed, with Michael Gove scrapping the last Labour government’s plans to start teaching children about the environment and climate change when they are in primary school.

Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Education Secretary, said “Today, young people are taking to the streets to send a  clear message to the government that climate change will be a fundamental and defining feature of their adult lives, and we must take the action needed to tackle it.

“We need to equip people with the knowledge to understand the enormous changes we face, and skills to work with the new green technologies that we must develop to deal with them.

“That must be part of a broad education and that prepares pupils for adult life. Climate change should be a core part of the school curriculum, and under a Labour government it will be.

“As well as teaching young people about the impact of climate change, their education must prepare them for the jobs of the future. As part of Labour’s Green Industrial Revolution to create 400,000 skilled jobs across the country, young people will be taught the skills they need.”

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Industry urges government to tackle concerns over poor-quality housing

The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is calling for a new, ground-breaking piece of legislation to transform the quality of new homes in England.

The proposals would force ministers to make sure that all new housing meets ten quality, safety and placemaking ‘principles’, attributes the organisation claims collectively constitute a ‘decent’ home.

Principles put forward in the organisation’s draft ‘Healthy Homes Bill’ include a requirement that new housing is built to be safe from the risk of fire, includes adequate living space and is located within a short walk of children’s play spaces.

The call for this new legislation is a response to research the TCPA undertook with University College London (UCL), which in one case study found that, using permitted development rights, a developer had increased the number of flats in a building by 33% upon what was declared within their ‘prior approval’ application, potentially leading to overcrowding and preventing the local authority from planning to meet the needs of residents. In another example, researchers discovered a two-bed flat, again built using permitted development, having only one small window.

This announcement coincides with the centenary of the Housing and Town Planning Act 1919, a key piece of legislation which helped transform the quality and delivery of council housing, giving ordinary people a decent home.

Fiona Howie, chief executive of the TCPA, said “There is a need for more homes but it is essential that they are of a high quality. Too often that is not the case. The very worst examples we have seen have come through the deregulated conversion of old office blocks and storage facilities into housing units. The creation of these cramped and substandard housing units is even more scandalous given what we know about the impact of housing conditions on people’s health and well-being. Poor quality, badly designed housing damages people’s life chances.

“In the rush to build more homes quality and safety is being overlooked. Surely everyone should agree that is unacceptable? We have gone backwards over the last 100 years. The Healthy Homes Act will help make sure that new homes built today leave a positive legacy. We know there is cross party political support for new homes and we hope there will be cross party support for this vital piece of new legislation to help transform the kinds of homes and places we are creating now and for future generations.”

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Marley’s bespoke training supports tomorrow’s roofing generation

Marley has teamed up with Leeds College of Building to help support the next generation of roofers.

A unique one-day training course created and delivered by Marley provided an opportunity for 16 second and third year roofing apprentices to gain first-hand experience on how to compile accurate roofing estimates.

The course built upon existing construction skills developed by the students, and exposed them to the next level of training to enable them to complete a fully-fledged roof estimate.

David Cassell, Training Manager at Marley, delivered the course content. He comments: “As the construction industry continues to face an ongoing shortage of skills, including roofers, it is vital that we support the next generation coming into the sector, and providing training in areas such as roof estimating is a prime example of how we can help them build strong foundations for a career in construction.”

The training was based upon working through Marley’s comprehensive roof system, which includes tiles, underlays, battens, fixings, ventilation and dry fix solutions – all of which are tried and tested to work together seamlessly while also meeting current British Standards.

The course also covered roof constants so that the apprentices could calculate rafter, hip and valley lengths that couldn’t be measured. In addition, expert guidance was provided to students on best practice when examining roofs in plan view, using final project drawings.

With final measurements in place, by the end of the course the students were able to complete a final roof estimate using components from the Marley roof system.

David Cassell concludes: “There are many advantages to working with a complete roof system from a single manufacturer, which can ultimately help to make contractors lives easier. It enables quicker installation as the products are designed to work together, and contractors can be assured that all the components satisfy the required standards such as BS 5534 for slating and tiling.

“A complete roof system is also an ideal foundation from which accurate roof estimates can be created. I am confident that the roofing apprentices at Leeds College of Building will have gained a lot by attending this bespoke course, and going forward can utilise the knowledge they have gained for the benefit of their future careers.”

www.marley.co.uk
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Euroclad Group is delighted to announce their new Managing Director

Euroclad Group is delighted to announce the appointment of Aiveen Kearney as Managing Director. Aiveen will replace Simon Thomas who has elected to leave the company after 30 plus years.

Paul O’Gorman commented ‘On behalf of the Kingspan Group, I want to thank Simon for his considerable input and leadership into the business during the past 30 plus years and, in particular, since the acquisition by the Kingspan Group some 3 years ago. In addition, I want to wish Simon every success in his future career path over the coming years’

Aiveen will commence her role as Managing Director effective from 7th May, 2019. She joined the Joris Division some 15 months ago, prior to this worked in a range of senior roles for Holcim, a global building materials and aggregates company, in both Australia and USA.

We would like to wish Aiveen every success in her new role.

For further information please contact:
Euroclad Group
+44 (0) 2920 776677
feedback@eurocladgroup.com
www.eurocladgroup.com
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Boost economy now by cutting VAT on home improvements, experts urge

Industry experts The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) are calling for the Government to cut the VAT on home improvement work following official data from the ONS. The information shows that whilst there a rise in output has been observed over the first quarter of 2019, construction output actually decreased month-on-month by 1.9% and the repair and maintenance series fell to its lowest level since December 2018, experiencing a fall of 3.1% compared to the previous month.

Speaking about this, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders, said “It’s not at all surprising that construction output has dropped at the end of the first quarter of this year, given the unprecedented political uncertainty we’ve been facing. To get us through these turbulent times, the Government must be bold in its thinking when it comes to supporting the economy bucking any downward turn. One course of action would be to cut VAT on work in the home improvement and private domestic sectors from 20% to 5%”

“A cut in VAT would help stimulate demand from homeowners resulting in more work for the thousands of small to medium-sized construction companies which would help support local economies and increase training opportunities. This is all the more important given that the FMB’s own State of Trade Survey for Q1 2019 saw the first dip in workloads for small builders in six years.”

“Cutting VAT would also be an important step to help encourage more retrofits of our existing buildings to make them more energy efficient and deliver a cut in carbon emissions.”

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Boost for housing market as Japan’s biggest housebuilder moves into UK

Japan’s biggest housebuilder will move into the UK housing market with immediate effect after striking a multi-million pound deal that will see it work with Homes England and Urban Splash to deliver thousands of new homes across England.

Sekisui House, one of the world’s leading housebuilders, are pioneers of modern methods of construction, where homes are built in factories and then shipped out to sites.

The £90m deal, which has been facilitated by lead real estate and financial advisor JLL, comprises a total new investment of £55m into regeneration company Urban Splash’s ‘House’ development business. It provides a significant boost to the UK’s modular housing industry and will help to speed up production of much-needed new homes.

Sekisui House have invested £22m of new equity, with £30m of equity and debt funding coming from the Government’s Home Building Fund, administered through Homes England.

Experienced entrepreneur Noel McKee, founder of We Buy Any Car, has also made a sizeable investment in the new partnership and will take an incremental c 5% stake.

Yoshihiro Nakai, President and Representative Director of Sekisui House Ltd said “We are extremely pleased to be able to work together with Homes England and Urban Splash to establish our operations and help to create outstanding communities in the UK.

“Using modern methods of construction to build high quality homes with short build times is one of our company’s great strengths. Our technology and know-how can help resolve pressing social issues in the UK, and I want to see us play our part effective immediately. These operations can also help bring vitality to UK regions, and we will work to make the strongest connections with the local communities.”

‘House’ is expected to deliver thousands of homes across England using modern methods of construction.

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, added “Sekisui House bring with them a proven track record in harnessing the modern methods of construction that are transforming home building.

“Backed by Government investment, this announcement will support our urgent mission to deliver more, better and faster home construction to ensure a new generation can realise the dream of home ownership.”

Homes England, the government’s housing accelerator, has been instrumental in providing significant financial support and expertise to the new partnership as well as providing assurance to the investors.

Sir Edward Lister, Chair of Homes England, commented “When Homes England launched last year we said we’d disrupt the housing market to increase the pace of construction. By helping bring one of the world’s largest and most innovative housebuilders to UK shores, we’re putting our money where our mouth is.

“By creating a more diverse landscape – where smaller builders such as Urban Splash get a stronger foothold – we’re rebuilding the building industry; driving up quality and improving consumer choice.”

Tom Bloxham MBE, Chairman of Urban Splash, concluded “We believe that there is a real opportunity in the UK housebuilding industry. We hope to leverage our 25 years of place-making experience and our recent investments into modular housing by bringing in new partners; having looked far and wide we chose Sekisui House from Japan because of the company’s unrivalled global experience in modular construction and shared values and philosophy that we are making homes not units, and a joint belief in the need for a green future.

“We are also proud to partner with Homes England – part of the UK Government – because of their commitment to modular and desire to grow capacity in the UK housing business.

“We are incredibly excited about the accelerated production of much-needed homes and evolving traditional practices as we embrace the benefits of innovative offsite construction. I hope it will establish us as the housing partner of choice for landowners – both public and private.”

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