Paul Murphy warns of apprenticeship crisis, urges state builder
Paul Murphy criticised the collapse in apprenticeship starts and warned the reliance on the private sector has produced a skills crisis that is holding back efforts to tackle the housing crisis. He argued the private sector cannot deliver apprenticeships at the necessary scale and called for a state construction company to provide secure jobs and properly paid apprenticeships.
Apprenticeship targets and government ambition
Paul Murphy noted past and current government targets, citing a target of 10,000 apprenticeships a year by 2020 and an earlier 2016 target of 9,000. He said increasing the target by 1,000 and pushing it out to 2025 does not amount to significant ambition.
Reliance on the private sector
He criticised the outsourcing of responsibility for skills and training to the private sector, contrasting this with state provision in education and health. He said that reliance on private employers has left apprenticeship opportunities limited and unattractive to workers.
Construction sector dynamics and skills gap
Murphy pointed to structural changes in construction - employment grew by 50,000 since 2013 while apprenticeships did not increase and in some "wet trades" have decreased. He linked this to a subcontractor model with layers of small firms and a massive decline in direct employment, which he said blocks the ability to build homes at scale.
Proposal for a state construction company
Drawing on a recent paper by Dr. Rory Hearn and Phil Murphy, he said the skills shortage cannot be resolved without job security in construction. He outlined that a state construction company would offer quality permanent employment, properly paid apprenticeships, improved wages and employee benefits, stronger regulation, and better safety and quality standards.
Evidence and international comparison
Murphy referenced UK analysis from the Industry Skills Plans UK Construction Leadership Council that increasing direct employment is essential to boost apprentice numbers, training and diversity. He argued there is no way to compel the private sector to provide the scale of direct employment required, making a state-led construction agency the necessary alternative.
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We have a crisis here, we have a crisis in terms of the number of apprenticeships that are being commenced, we have a crisis in terms of the skills shortage that is holding back our ability to tackle our housing crisis and therefore we have plans and announcements and so on from the government and a target of 10,000 apprenticeships a year by 2020. Interestingly, Deputy Brewton was speaking earlier about his experience when he was the Minister and I think if you go back to 2016 you will find that the government then announced a target of 9,000 so we are seven years on and the government is increasing its target by 1,000 and pushing it forward to 2025. It doesn't smack of very significant ambition. Why is this situation the way it is? What is the kind of fundamental reason for the lack of apprenticeship opportunities and people taking up apprenticeships? And fundamentally it is about reliance on the private sector. Like so much in our economy, so much in our society, the problems that we face are basically because the government has outsourced responsibility to the private sector. When it comes to educating people to work in our schools and when it comes to educating people to heal people to work in our hospitals as nurses, doctors, etc. We don't outsource that to a for-profit health sector or for-profit education system. We say the state is going to education system. We say the state is going to educate people so that they are able to provide these necessary skills. But when it comes to construction, for example, or which is going to be a very vital area, like climate response in all its myriad of forms, that will take, largely we say that the responsibility there is that we are relying on the private sector to provide apprenticeships. And that simply isn't happening. Take the case of construction sector. We know that employment has grown in construction by 50,000 since 2013, but apprenticeships have not increased to any significant degree, and in some areas, like in the wet trades, they have actually decreased. That is linked to the change in the model of the construction sector and the reliance on subcontractors and layers of subcontractors, so small companies and very little direct employment, a massive decline in direct employment. But that is now a fundamental issue. That is a fundamental block in terms of addressing the skills shortage to be able to build homes at scale in order to address the housing crisis as quickly as is possible. It is an issue that we have discussed in Britain, and the Industry Skills Plans UK Construction Leadership Council stated that in order to improve apprentice numbers, to increase skills training and diversity in the industry, and the industry, it is essential to increase the levels of direct employment. But there is no way to compel the private sector to increase the levels of direct employment. They have moved to this really horrendous, from the point of view of workers, model of how the whole construction sector is organised. And so what it clearly points towards is the need, it is another very significant argument for a state construction company. There is a very important paper published last week by Dr. Rory Hearn and Phil Murphy, which makes the case, including the case in terms of apprenticeships. They state, the skills shortage cannot be resolved until we create job security within the construction sector. A state construction company which offered quality permanent employment, properly paid apprenticeships, improved wages and employee benefits, e.g. improved pension provisions, early retirement schemes, sickness pay and death and service compensation, better regulation and improved safety and quality standards. The private sector is not set up to provide the apprenticeships on the scale that is required. It is not attractive to workers for a whole variety of very understandable reasons. Therefore, we should stop outsourcing this to the private sector and set up a state construction agency. This is the private sector that is, which you can choose from working in terms of making the case. You can choose to manage the business, and you can choose your home to work in terms of making the case. You can choose to manage the unit at the site. You can choose to manage the
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