Trades and Apprenticeships

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is becoming a bit of a habit for me to be called almost first in Westminster Hall debates, Mr Betts—but whatever the case may be, it is a real pleasure to speak at any stage and to serve under your chairship. I commend the hon. Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin) for leading this very apt debate.

In my constituency, we have a tradition of work in the construction sector, whether in building, plumbing, electrical or roofing, or even in painting and décor. There is just so much to do when it comes to building. I live in the countryside, so there are always houses needing repairs, and many people I have known have been in the business for umpteen years and continue in it. However, and I will come back to this shortly, we seem to have a small dearth of people in apprenticeships, which is disappointing. Of course, those figures are for Northern Ireland as a whole; perhaps my Strangford constituency may not have seen the same fall, because of that strong tradition of working in this sector.

Many hon. Members will know that I am a big supporter of apprenticeships and the opportunities they bring for young people. They provide a real chance for those who have just left school to get out into the world of work, to gain skills, to specialise in a trade and to earn money. It is great to be in Westminster Hall to discuss that. I think it may have been last week that we had a debate here about universities, and we were saying that there are those who have adapted to academia out of necessity; but for those who are not academically focused, perhaps the opportunity is in the skills we are referring to today.

This debate is really important, and I look forward to the Minister’s response. I know she does not have responsibility for Northern Ireland, but I like to come along and give a Northern Ireland perspective, because I think it adds to the debate. I am ever mindful that this House of Commons represents all four regions of the United Kingdom, and we can do things here to better them. I know the Minister would choose, as I would, to share benefits and good things that we have with other parts of the United Kingdom. It is also a pleasure to see the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin), in her place and I look forward to her contribution as well.

Just last week Labour announced its commitment to the 1.5 million new houses to be built, which I welcome; it is important for boosting the economy and it will create opportunities and jobs. However, to make that happen we must ensure that we have the apprentices and the workers in all the different sectors we have referred to. When it comes to apprenticeships, one company last week in the news said that to help to build those houses, 2,800 new plumbers would be needed. I will give some examples later on of some of the things we are doing across the water, but that figure perhaps tells us that, if we are going to build all these houses—again, I commend the Government for doing that—we must ensure we have the workers in place to do that, and apprenticeship opportunities must be part of that.

I know sometimes apprenticeships involve working out in the fresh air—that never bothered me, by the way, although other people might want to stay in an office—but, if people can get paid well in an apprenticeship and the number of years for apprenticeships is reduced from five down to three, people can get the qualifications early on and then start to earn. We do not want to decry young people; we want to encourage them and ensure that the apprenticeships come, that they do their three years and that at the end of those three years they are qualified and earning big money. With Labour’s commitment to 1.5 million new houses, the opportunity to earn big money is here now.

I would love to hear what the Minister has to say in relation to that and how the hon. Member for Portsmouth North will encourage people to take those jobs. I have listened to her comments in previous speeches where she has emphasised the necessity of tackling our skills shortages across the United Kingdom. She has spoken a few times in the debates she has been involved in about how we can do that through apprenticeships and dealing with skills barriers.

In Northern Ireland specifically, numbers of new participants in apprenticeships decreased by 12% between 2018-19 and 2022-23 and by 24% between 2021-22 and 2022-23. Those figures are unfortunately quite disappointing, highlighting that fewer young people are taking up apprenticeships as a form of education and employment. I suppose it depends on the society people live in; we in the Ards peninsula and Strangford see a tradition of building and house building and repairs, but across the whole of Northern Ireland apprenticeships are unfortunately decreasing.

In addition, participants who leave their course, either with or without leaving their framework, are known as leavers. The question that I want to focus on, and that the hon. Member for Portsmouth North focused on in her speech, is those people who start but do not finish apprenticeships. Perhaps the Minister has some ideas about how to encourage them to stay. I am very keen to hear what she has to say, because perhaps we can share her comments with those in Northern Ireland.

In 2022-23, 5,746 participants left ApprenticeshipsNI courses: 3,091 at level 2, 301 at level 2/3 and 2,354 at level 3. More than half—56%—achieved a level 2 full framework. That was six percentage points lower than in 2018-19, but 13 percentage points higher than in 2021 —again, that shows the need to be more focused. The figures show that thousands of people are leaving apprenticeship courses, and a further section of people complete only levels 1 and 2, and do not continue to level 3—level 3 is where the money is, guys! They need to be encouraged to focus, stay the course and do what they are asked to do, because at the end of that they progress to good, constant employment, which will be reinforced because of all these houses that are going to be built. We need to make apprenticeships accessible, encourage people to continue with their apprenticeships and increase financial support through the apprenticeship payment rate. We must give those workers the pay they deserve and highlight to young people that there are opportunities for career progression and stable, secure pay.

For many, working for someone else can be the start of having their own business. In the Ards peninsula, where I live, an incredible number of people have their own business as a result of starting out on an apprenticeship. I will give an example to show where the opportunities are. One of my staff members was having issues with her gas boiler last week. One of her children is asthmatic and must be in a temperature-controlled room; therefore, heating the house is incredibly important. She phoned every single gas company in the area to get a call-out, and only one company could get someone out in the morning. The engineer said that he was able to come out so promptly only because he had an apprentice. In other words, he had seen that it is necessary for young people to have apprenticeships, and that enabled him to do certain jobs and delegate others. That young fella was learning the trade and the business, and was at a stage where he could do some of the work. That took the burden off the single owner of the gas company, but it also gave an opportunity to that young fella, who one day, because there is demand for it, will have his own business and do well. So apprenticeships are an opportunity and they help businesses to grow.

Young people are under the impression that apprenticeships are only for skills such as plumbing, engineering, mechanics, electrical maintenance and so on—jobs that some see as male-dominated—but that is not the case. I am very pleased to say that we have a number of ladies who are progressing in construction. I understand that the business may be different, but there are opportunities for young ladies to involve themselves in any of those skills. They are more than capable of doing that, and I support them.

There are other sets of skills that young people can take advantage of, such as food and drink manufacturing, construction craft, sign making and print production. Some have done so and some will in the future. Our responsibility as Members is to ensure the correct provisions are in place so that people push themselves and stay in their apprenticeship. Sometimes they need to be encouraged, because the work can be hard or repetitive, but it is rewarding, and it can lead to employment and their own business further down the line. We must fix the wage and give them the working conditions they need to succeed.

I appreciate the hon. Member for Portsmouth North for bringing this issue to the House. It is time for the Government to focus on where the shortages are and how we can encourage young people to take these opportunities. There are so many young men and women out there who could benefit from apprenticeships, but we do not talk about the harsh reality that our completion rates are low and that a large percentage decide to leave. What can we do to make that better? I hope that the Minister will endeavour to deal with these issues, in parallel with her counterparts in the devolved nations. I always ask that, because it is important to recognise that, although we may live in different parts of this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the things that confront us—this debate today—are salient to every part of every region. We want a strong apprenticeship system across the whole of this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for her positivity and for her response to the hon. Member for Portsmouth North. I hope I have not jumped the gun with this point—perhaps the Minister is coming to it. Has she had discussions with those back home in the Northern Ireland Assembly about working together to progress things in a positive way for everyone?

[Janet Daby]

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention and for his earlier speech. We are working with our devolved Administrations and are committed, along with them, to making sure that we get this right for young people. I thank him for his contributions about, and concern for, young people needing to complete their apprenticeships. I am very willing to engage further with him on these conversations.

In addition to the declining numbers of apprenticeship opportunities in recent years, it is also concerning that only around half of apprentices go on to achieve their apprenticeships. The latest available data for the 2022-23 academic year shows that the apprenticeship achievement rate was 54.3%. In the construction sector, the achievement rate was slightly lower, at 52.7%. Although that represents an increase on the previous year, as in so many areas of the skills system, we need to do much more. We all know that apprenticeships, when completed, deliver great outcomes, so it is critical that we work together with employers, learners and providers to make sure that more apprentices achieve. The Government are working hard to deliver that.

There are concerns around the English and maths requirements for apprenticeships, which are sometimes a barrier to completion and achievement. We are looking carefully at this policy to make sure that we set high standards while supporting apprentices to achieve. We will continually improve other areas of apprenticeships, including end-point assessment, to ensure that they are robust yet proportionate and aligned with key professional qualifications. I am clear that this is a partnership, so we will also make sure that employers and providers have the support and challenge that they need to improve by sharing best practice and improving guidance, alongside an inspection and accountability system that drives improvement.

I welcome the work of the Construction Industry Training Board to support construction apprenticeships in key trades, such as bricklaying and carpentry. The CITB, which is sponsored by the Department, provides financial support to both construction employers and learners. Employers can claim £2,500 a year per apprentice while individuals complete their apprenticeship and a £3,500 achievement grant on successful completion of their full apprenticeship. Apprentices that go on to complete their apprenticeships can look forward to wage returns and more secure employment.

I gently remind my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North that the Chancellor set out in the Budget that the apprenticeship minimum wage will increase by 18% from April 2025, from £6.40 to £7.55 per hour. The median annual earnings for apprentices achieving a level 3 apprenticeship in the construction, planning and built environment sector in 2015-16 were £21,730 one year after studying, rising to £29,620 five years later. We will ensure that many more apprentices, including those in key trades, see those benefits in the future.

As my hon. Friend mentioned, small and medium-sized enterprises are a key area of interest. They are a driving force in the construction sector, playing an important role in providing local opportunities to young people, and we provide a range of financial support to help them to take on apprentices. For non-levy paying employers—they are likely to be smaller employers—we pay 100% of the apprenticeship training cost for young apprentices aged 16 to 21. We also provide £1,000 to employers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, in recognition of the additional support that younger apprentices may need when entering the workplace. Employers can choose how best to spend that, and they are not required to pay anything towards employees’ national insurance contributions for apprentices up to the age of 25.

I strongly encourage any young person to consider a rewarding career in the trades, whether that is as an electrician, scaffolder or plasterer. My hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough spoke so passionately about apprenticeships being an excellent entrance to jobs and occupations. It is a brilliant route for young people, and I could not agree with him more. The Government are really ambitious for young people, where it is right for them, to pursue apprenticeships, and it is our job to make sure that we give them every opportunity to do so. This Government are about breaking down barriers and ensuring that young people have those opportunities.

The Government have an ambitious plan for rebuilding Britain. We have committed to building 1.5 million homes in England to ensure that people have access to quality housing, and skilled trades are absolutely necessary if we are going to achieve that target. We are working closely with industry to ensure that we have a skilled workforce to deliver that commitment. Last month, we announced a £140 million package of industry investment to create 32 home building skills hubs in areas that need more housing. The hubs are an example of how sectors can use existing flexibilities to solve skills shortages and support growth. They will make use of existing flexibilities in our apprenticeship system to deliver fast-track home building training and apprenticeships for skills in critical demand for home building, including groundwork, site carpentry and bricklaying. The Government are committed to building on that type of innovation.

I am enormously grateful for the support that my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North has given this agenda today and for all the very significant and relevant contributions. The hon. Member for Wokingham spoke about his local area and the support that is needed. He emphasised the decline in many of the apprenticeships that are needed for young people, and he asked for a meeting. I invite him to write in and I will endeavour to ensure that my noble Friend, Baroness Smith, will have a meeting for that very important discussion.

Hon. Members have raised some important concerns about skills shortages in critical trades, and about the perception of careers in those vital occupations. I am grateful for the considered contributions of everyone who has spoken. It is clear that there are widespread skills shortages in vital industries, such as construction. We will all need to benefit from young people being in those jobs at some point or other in our lives, and it is especially needed for our country when we are looking at growth. I have set out today how we will begin to tackle this issue, starting with the establishment of Skills England and by developing a more flexible and levy-funded growth and skills offer. Those actions will support employers and learners across the country in accessing high-quality skills training.