CONSTRUCTION union UCATT has slammed the lack of newly qualified apprentices entering the construction industry.
In National Apprenticeship Week, the union claims UK construction apprenticeship completion levels have “flat-lined” at around 8,500 despite new figures revealing 22,496 apprentices “started” courses this year.
UCATT says the only figure that has any value is the numbers that finish the courses.
Brian Rye, acting general secretary of UCATT, said, “We need almost 50,000 new entrants every a year to sustain ourselves. Less than 20 per cent of that – 8,000 apprentices – is not enough.
“The UK construction industry needs to address the reality of the situation and start training many more new apprentices. And the major constructors need to pull their weight, which they are not doing.”
