Essex Developers Group Construction Skills 15 May 2018

Construction Sector in Greater Essex 180,000 homes planned to be built in Greater Essex over the next 20 years Workforce 2014 2015 2016 Construction workforce in Essex 60,500 65,500 65,000 Construction apprenticeships in Essex (as a %age of Essex apprenticeship) 531 (3.6%) 489 (3.4%) 500 (3.5%) Adult education learning aims focused on construction in Essex (as a %age of all adult education learning aims) 5,100 (7.1%) -

Construction skills challenges in Essex Perception of the sector in careers advice Few schools run good design, engineering and construction courses Lack of on-site experience of construction FE leavers Hard to pay enough for tutors from sector Apprenticeship standards awaited Hard to use levy through the supply chain College Apprenticeships

How is policy affecting the landscape

Action on construction skills in Essex Promote Design, Engineering and Construction courses in schools Expand professional Degree Apprenticeship opportunities, such as in planning Expand outreach and employer engagement Bid to European Funds for ‘innovation hub’ in Essex Invest in Harlow College to support delivery of new qualifications in MMC / house design £24m National Re-Training Scheme - focus on house building and Innovation

Discussion points Are skills shortages affecting tender prices? If so, are they a significant factor in pricing? Are contractors expressing concerns about their capacity to deliver? How are you seeking to attract the brightest and best into construction? Are there any policy or rule changes that would make it easier to increase the construction workforce?