Trade bodies demand clarity as ‘damaging’ apprenticeship reforms ‘paused’

Industry bodies are calling for more clarity after Skills England announced it will be pausing its apprenticeship reforms.

It comes after a coalition of trade bodies warned in a letter that the changes would be a “disaster” for construction and raised concerns it could lead to another Grenfell Tower disaster.

The government announced in February that it would reduce the length of time required to complete an apprenticeship in England from a year to eight months, as a way to reduce “red tape” and speed up training of new workers “in key industries like construction”.

It also plans to have apprentices assessed through a “sampling” process rather than having to demonstrate a full suite of competence to assessors.

The changes were set to apply to all apprenticeships in England, with site carpentry and joinery level 2 earmarked as one of five pilot areas this summer.

However, this week a Skills England spokesperson told Construction News: “We have paused further changes to assessment plans within the construction space.

“We took this decision following feedback from the construction industry and expected reforms to come from the Building Safety Act as we navigate a way forward.

“A small number of apprenticeship standards carry a recommended duration of eight months. For the majority, the duration is longer – but where apprentices have significant prior learning it is now possible for them to complete their apprenticeship in eight months. This is a positive change based on feedback from both employers and learners, an example of cutting red tape.”

The coalition warned in its open letter that the proposed changes risked “another Grenfell on the 1.5 million homes [pledged to be delivered this parliament], sending the message from the government that construction needs to concentrate on cost-cutting over skills”.

British Woodworking Federation chief executive Helen Hewitt told CN this week that the coalition – which has had four new bodies join it since publishing its letter – met with Skills England officials this week but were given a much less clear statement.

While work on carpentry and joinery as a pilot has been paused, she said members asked whether any construction-related apprenticeships are going to be reformed in the coming months but are still waiting for an answer.

“You would have thought if they’d put them on hold they’d be delighted to say not one, but they didn’t respond,” she said.

Hewitt added that at the meeting, trade body leaders told the quango about their concerns over “dumbing down the quality of provision, competence and sampling”.