The Queen’s Speech: Reactions from the industry

  Posted by: electime      12th May 2021

Image by WikiImages from Pixabay

Jamie Jefferies, commercial manager at Access Training UK, on the lifetime skills guarantee:

“We welcome the decision to introduce a ‘lifetime skills guarantee,’ supporting construction and manual trade, some of the UK’s strongest sectors during the pandemic. We have seen a surge in people looking to retrain with noticeable increases across the board. Training to be an electrician has been the most popular avenue over the last year with an increase in trainees of 38 per cent, closely followed by those interested in training to become a gas engineer (29 per cent) and plumber (24 per cent).

Whilst today’s announcement is encouraging and marks a positive step for the industry, there needs to be more support for trainees looking to navigate and establish themselves in a new career, especially in today’s competitive market. At Access Training, we make sure our students’ career is our main focus. We pride ourselves on innovative training programs that allow flexibility, affordability and most importantly of all sustainability within the students chosen career.”

Adrienne Minster, CEO of Rated People on the lifetime skills guarantee:

“It is fantastic news that the government will be supporting those wanting to expand their skillsets throughout adulthood. Continuous development has always been wrapped up in trade work, whether that’s learning a trade or building on existing skills, but the cost of further training courses can be a barrier for some. 4 in 5 tradespeople (81 per cent) specialise in more than one area to expand their businesses and pick up more work, so it’s great that there may be additional support for those interested in learning new skills.

This announcement could also help solve the skills shortage in the trades services sector which has been exacerbated by the pandemic.  In the last year, there has been a 78 per cent increase in demand for tradespeople and that’s led to longer than normal waiting times for those looking to start a home improvement project. Government support like this can help encourage more people into the trades industry, whether they are looking to change careers later in life, or they are at the very start of their professional careers and considering their options.”

Brian Berry, chief executive of Federation of Master Builders (FMB) :

On Net Zero, Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “I wholeheartedly welcome the Government’s renewed commitment to achieving net zero in today’s Queen’s Speech. But it urgently needs to back a long-term plan to retrofit our 28 million energy inefficient homes, if we are to have a hope in making this commitment a reality. The Construction Leadership Council’s National Retrofit Strategy provides an ‘oven-ready’ blueprint for how this can be achieved, and I would urge the Government to consider its recommendations in full if it wants to position the UK as a global leader in tackling climate change ahead of COP26.”

On skills, Berry continued: “Crucial to the long-term certainty builders need is a robust commitment to training, and so I look forward to the detail of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill that will deliver the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. Skills shortages in construction have become endemic, with a third of builders routinely struggling to hire bricklayers and carpenters. If we are to truly build back better and tackle significant issues such as climate change, then enhancing the UK’s skills and training environment is imperative. Improvements must seek to strengthen the links between employers and colleges, and encourage more employers to train. In the construction sector, local SME builders train 71 per cent of all construction apprentices and must be at the heart of these plans.”

On planning, Berry concluded: “We won’t build the homes we need if we fail to diversify the housing market and reverse the decline of SME house builders, who built 40 per cent of all new homes in the 1980s but only build 12 per cent today. So the Government’s commitment to an updated planning system through the Planning Bill is good news. While greater flexibility, simplicity, and responsiveness are needed to tackle the barriers that 48 per cent of small builders face with the planning system, we must not compromise the quality of the homes we build. New measures that make the planning system quicker and more affordable are welcome, but it is vital that high standards in design and build are not affected as a result, and that any overhaul doesn’t in fact add further delays.”