BSRIA is celebrating National Apprenticeship Week (NAW 2017) which brings together employers and apprentices from across England to celebrate the success of apprenticeships.
Julia Evans, Chief Executive, BSRIA, said: “With the proposed government housing targets of between 225,000 to 275,000 (or more) new homes per year which will be needed to keep up with population growth and years of under-supply – which could translate into almost one million new homes built by 2020 – construction and engineering apprentices are crucial.
Indeed, apprenticeships are essential for up-and-coming builders to get into the workplace: we hope this week can highlight the importance of such vital trades.
We need to change the image of our industry and make it a more attractive career proposition. Government can certainly help industry to communicate better to make engineering more exciting. Maybe we need to move the focus away from one of being a ‘construction industry’ to one focused on ‘the built environment’.
Undeniably, one of the major threats to the government’s infrastructure plans is the skills shortage in construction. And the need to stem the skills gap and attract more people into construction careers is more essential than ever since Brexit, as many of BSRIA’s members – and the wider industry – rely on skilled workers from Europe.
An apprenticeship can take you anywhere and young people, engineers and entrepreneurs alike can rise to the top through traineeships and apprenticeships.”
The spirit of NAW 2017 fits in well with BSRIA’s current INSPIRE project which is working with local schools, national and local politicians and the media to promote STEM and change its perceptions.
National Apprenticeship Week 2016 – runs from 6th to 10th March 2017
National Apprenticeship Week 2017
National Apprenticeship Week is co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
The 10th National Apprenticeship Week will bring together employers and apprentices from across England to celebrate the success of apprenticeships over the last decade and will seek to encourage even more people to choose apprenticeships as a fast-track to a great career.
National Apprenticeship Week is co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service and is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy.
National Apprenticeship Service
The National Apprenticeship Service is part of the Skills Funding Agency, which is an executive agency sponsored by BIS to fund skills training for further education in England. It supports over 1,000 colleges, private training organisations and employers with more than £4 billion of funding each year. The service co-ordinates and promotes the delivery of apprenticeships in England.
BSRIA is a non-profit distributing, member-based association, providing specialist services in construction and building services. More information at www.bsria.co.uk.
