On 23 March 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced an investment of £600 million into the construction sector, to help train 60,000 skilled personnel by 2029.
The Chancellor acknowledged that a lack of skilled workers is a major barrier to the Government’s pledge to ‘get Britain building again’, as thousands of job vacancies remain unfilled.
Through funding and reforms, the Government aims to pay for training places, ensure a sustainable flow of skilled construction workers and help businesses invest in skills. Plans include £165m to deliver more construction courses and £100m to set up 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges. Foundation apprenticeships will be backed with £40m from the overall funding with employers receiving £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they employ and retain.
In addition, Skills Bootcamps will be expanded. In the electrical sector this funding is currently available for Qualified Electricians - who already hold an ECS Gold card - to upskill in areas such as low carbon technologies.
The JIB welcomes this investment in training. It is essential we continue to invest in the skills needed to drive economic growth as outlined in the Government’s ‘
Plan for Change’. However, in our determination to achieve this essential skilled workforce, we must also uphold a commitment to competence - through the rigorous standards of apprenticeships, NVQs, and Experienced Worker Assessments leading to ECS Gold card status.
The JIB will continue to collaborate with organisations and stakeholders - including, government departments, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC), Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), and Unite to ensure industry standards remain strong and are not in any way diminished by ‘fast-track’ routes.
The JIB Skills Development Fund is also available to assist members with the cost of upskilling your workforce, find out more
here.
Read the full announcement from Chancellor Reeves
here.