Apprenticeship standards in construction are set to increase following the Government’s approval of two new apprenticeships in bricklaying and plastering, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “We feared that the Government’s ambition to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020 would lead to an emphasis on quantity over quality. Today the Government has demonstrated that it really is committed to working with the industry to increase the quality of apprenticeship training by approving these new standards. Research by the FMB shows that two-thirds of construction SMEs believe that the overall quality of construction apprenticeships has decreased during the past 30 years. Furthermore, over 70% of small construction firms would be more likely to train an apprentice if the quality of construction apprenticeship standards were improved. Given that it’s construction SMEs that train two-thirds of all apprentices, the Government is right to back the FMB’s mission to increase the quality of apprenticeships.”