The Sandwell Colleges were delighted to join The Mayor for the West Midlands as he launched the Building Growth Action Plan, turning the region’s building boom into an opportunity for 12,000 young people.
Key stakeholders and partners at the launch included the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) who estimate the region needs 12,000 construction workers over the next three years.
The ambitious plan aims to bridge the skills gap by creating more training placements in construction, and by strengthening transition from full-time study into work through high-quality industry placements, and will build on the success of the recently launched Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC).
The plan was formally launched at an affordable housing development site in Sandwell being delivered by Morro on behalf of Green Square Accord Housing, which employs a number of apprentices and young workers, including our Level 2 Carpentry apprentices Ruby and Rio.
Rio said: “When I left high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. A lot of people in our generation don’t think about trades as careers, but it’s the trades that are going to be here forever.
“It’s always going to be in demand no matter what you do. Everybody knows AI’s going to take over eventually, but you’re not going to see a robot laying bricks. You’re not going to see a robot putting up panels – it’s just not physically realistic. Human labour is always going to be in demand.”
Ruby added: “I think I always wanted to go into carpentry. When I was younger, I’d see my dad build a cupboard. I remember him building a bed and I watched him do it and I thought, ‘that’s something I want to do’.”
Tim Balcon, CEO at CITB said: “The launch of the Building Growth Action Plan for the West Midlands marks an important step towards building a more joined-up regional construction skills ecosystem. The plan will help inform a new partnership and regional action plan between CITB and the WMCA, ensuring the West Midlands develops the skilled workforce needed to deliver ambitious housing, retrofit and infrastructure programmes.”
