Welcome BRIAN BERRY
A t a time when there is so much discussion about the industry’s skills crisis – the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) estimates that we need another 250,000 construction workers over the next few years to meet housing demand – it’s good to know that FMB members have a proud record of training apprentices. The main obstacles people face when entering the industry include too few training and employment opportunities offered by employers, poor resourcing of training colleges, the ongoing impact of Brexit and Covid, and immigration policy. Action is needed, which is why the FMB hopes the creation of the ‘Skills England’ agency will help, but other long-term measures are required. Long-term solutions needed The issue of resources needs to be addressed. Small and medium-sized (SME) companies must be supported and rewarded when taking on apprentices. Boot camps and short- term courses won’t tackle long-term problems. Greater flexibility for the Apprenticeship Levy to support SMEs would be helpful but we also need to ensure our colleges have adequate and sustainable funding. For too long colleges of further education have been the ‘Cinderella’ of higher education. We need parity of esteem between those wanting to learn a trade and those going to university. See pages 29-31 to learn about members’ experiences of hiring apprenticeships, looking at the challenges and benefits.
“The FMB always promotes the use of
Given the importance of housing delivery in the UK and a 1.5 million target for new homes in England, it was positive that the Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook MP and Shadow Housing Minister Kevin Hollinrake MP attended the FMB’s Winter Parliamentary Reception. Our event included the launch of our new FMB research report, Supporting SME Housebuilders , written by the London School of Economics to examine the economic importance of SME housebuilders. The report offers recommendations to boost the current 10 per cent share of all homes built by small housebuilders. ‘The word at Westminster’ on page 14 gives a full account. The FMB always promotes the use of contracts, which is why we offer members our suite of contracts for free. However, we know that some contracts stipulate the need for a contract administrator who can hold a lot of power. When the contract administrator is also an architect there can be tensions. On pages 32- 35, we examine the issue, providing members with guidance on avoiding the pitfalls. Finally, we are starting to celebrate our 2025 Master Builder Awards with the first regional ceremony scheduled in April. See pages 36-37 for where and when your local Master Builder Awards celebrations will take place.
contracts, which is why we offer members our suite of contracts for free.”
BRIAN BERRY, Chief Executive Federation of Master Builders
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Master Builder
www.fmb.org.uk
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