Contractor Laing O’Rourke has called for the introduction of specific construction GCSEs and A-levels as part of a 10-point plan to solve the skills crisis.
In the areas of schools and education, Laing O’Rourke is calling for the introduction of specific GCSEs and A-levels in Design, Engineer and Construct (DEC) which it says would boost the appeal of working in the sector.
The contractor says schoolchildren can take DEC as part of the curriculum, but the existing qualifications are not recognised by many universities. And only 42 schools out of a possible 3,401 state-funded secondary schools in England offer the DEC curriculum.
“The government has the opportunity to work with the industry to create GCSEs and A-levels in DEC and incentivise schools and colleges to offer them to pupils and students,” says Laing O’Rourke.
“This would boost the appeal of the sector to schools, students, parents, universities and higher education institutions and educate people about the positive reality of a career in modern day construction and engineering.”
The report aims to shine a light on some of the biggest issues with in the construction sector as well as offer some practical, deliverable recommendations to help close the skills gap.
Among the areas it looks at is the lack of diversity within the industry. Laing O’Rourke says talented female, ethnic minority and LGBT candidates are turning away from the construction industry and to help reverse this trend the industry needs to introduce an improved system for target setting, monitoring and measuring its progress in this area to assure continual improvement.
It says it is lobbying for broader industry support for open and transparent annual reporting on workforce diversity, including targets for year-on-year improvements as demonstrated via these results.
A further area the report touches on is urging the government to merge the CITB with the Engineering Construction Training Board to create a single encompassing training board.
It comes at a time when the spotlight has been on the CITB and Mark Farmer’s report, Modernise or Die, published last month, which called for a complete overhaul of the CITB, including the levy and the mandate under which it operates.
The report states: “In the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the construction and infrastructure sector currently has a strong focal point through which its skills requirements can be organised.
“However, we envisage an even greater role for the CITB. The body could be merged with the Engineering Construction Training Board under a common leadership, and we support its efforts to take a greater leading role in setting and assuring standards. We also support the CITB in fostering collaboration in an industry notable for its dislocation between major players and key stakeholders regarding the approach to skills.”
The full 10-point plan is:
- Flex the government’s planned Apprenticeship Levy and reduce delays to approval of “Trailblazer Apprenticeship” standards;
- Create regionally focused skills pipelines;
- Increase availability of Russell Group university standard part-time degree apprenticeships;
- Review options for career transitioning apprenticeships;
- Introduce GCSEs and A-levels in Design, Engineer and Construct (DEC) disciplines;
- Foster collaboration between industry and government to deliver a broader range of improved careers advice for construction and engineering;
- Commit the industry to measurable improvements in diversity;
- Seize the opportunity of the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy;
- Support the creation of a single construction and infrastructure skills body;
- Facilitate the ongoing professional development of a directly employed workforce.
