Millions to be invested in two counties to train an extra 3,000 construction professionals a year

By Eddie Bisknell – Local Democracy Reporting Service

Millions of pounds will be spent training an extra 3,000 construction professionals a year in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to help build more than 100,000 new homes.

More than £6.9 million has been given to the East Midlands Combined County Authority to spend on training the next generation of construction workers across a variety of professions over the next five years.

The aim is to help the region make up a marked shortfall in roles in the sector which will be urgently needed to help meet the Government’s aim to build 1.5 million new homes.

Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire make up the combined authority and it will be aiming to assist the delivery of 10,860 homes per year across the two cities and counties – totalling 100,000 over the next 10 years.

It is expected that the East Midlands will need an extra 3,080 construction workers a year to help achieve this goal, totalling 15,000 new roles between 2024-2029.

A report from the combined authority says the current level of funding for construction courses is “insufficient” to provide competitive pay and quality teaching.

It says there is a “leaky” pipeline connecting people who have completed construction college courses into the industry and those actually obtaining jobs.

The report says less than half (46 per cent) of people obtaining construction course qualifications actually go onto “sustained employment” in the industry.

It says investment from employers is also “not sufficient” to address the skills shortage.

The combined authority has already received the first £1.3 million in funding from central government which will be spent on running bootcamps and “free courses for jobs” skills programmes from August this year to July 2027.

This funding will help expand the offers already provided by sixth form colleges and technical colleges and other institutions which are already well-placed to provide their expertise, as well as expanding facilities to allow further skills to be trained.

Employers would be encouraged to invest more money in equipment and staff time to help further the improvements, the report says.

Through this investment, the combined authority aims to provide 35,000 additional training places and 10,000 new construction foundation apprenticeships.