Liverpool city region strikes deal with Construction Industry Training Board to plug construction skills gap by training 9,000 new workers. Tony McDonough reports
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority will oversee the training of 9,000 new construction workers over the next five years.
A new agreement sees the CA collaborating with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) as it looks to plug a skills gap in the city region’s construction sector. This is critical to plans to build thousands of new homes as well as an extensive retrofit programme.
A memorandum of understanding was signed at a £22m apartment project being built by housing association Torus in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, supported by £960,000 from the CA’s Brownfield Land Fund.
It is the first formal partnership under the CITB’s new national initiative to create a connected construction skills ecosystem across England, aligning national and regional priorities
This agreement allows the CA to analyse live data from building sites across the region to pinpoint skills gaps and train the estimated 9,000 extra workers needed over the next five years.
A new Construction Workforce Development Unit will also be created to act as a broker between public authorities, employers and training providers. The pilot scheme will be tested and could be rolled out to other regional authorities.
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Liverpool city region has successfully won huge sums of funding to deliver some of the most ambitious housing and infrastructure projects in the country.
“From a £700m housing programme which will deliver 16,000 homes, to HyNet energy, as well as four new train stations. But to deliver on these plans, we need a skilled, diverse workforce.
“This partnership with CITB is a first for any Mayoral Combined Authority and shows the leadership role we’re taking to tackle skills shortages head-on.”
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In June, Mr Rotheram joined the Construction Skills Mission Board, representing metro mayors across England and aimed at recruiting an additional 100,000 construction workers annually.
This year, the Combined Authority is investing £68m funding adult skills, Further Education colleges and training providers – including £12m for Skills Bootcamps.
CITB chief executive Tim Balcon added: “This agreement marks a major step forward in aligning national and regional priorities to meet the construction sector’s challenges.
“By working closely with Liverpool city region, we can ensure training provision and workforce planning are responsive to local needs, helping employers and communities thrive.”