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Construction sector 'needs more apprentices'

Falling numbers of apprenticeships in the construction industry could provide a problem for sector in the year ahead, it has been claimed.

A spokesperson for the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians said construction has suffered greatly during the recession and also the lack of new blood training in the sector means it could face a difficult future.

He commented: "The biggest challenge to training new construction workers is the lack of apprenticeships being offered. That was [even] a factor when the industry was booming."

According to the Society of Chartered Surveyors, 40,000 jobs could be lost in the construction sector during the course of 2010.

This would result in the number of people employed within the industry falling to below 100,000 - down from its peak in 2007 of 267,000 individuals.

Elsewhere, figures given by the minister for the Cabinet Office via the director of the ONS in response to a parliamentary question recently showed 210,260 people claimed jobseeker's allowance in December while looking for work in the construction industry.