The ECITB is allocating £87m to support workforce training and tackle skills shortages over the next three years.

Published by the employer-led board of the ECITB, the strategy sets out a three-year plan, from 2023-25, to help bring new entrants with foundation skills into industry as well as support ongoing training and the reskilling of workers moving from other sectors.

The strategy builds on measures enacted by the ECITB to secure skills during the pandemic. The focus now is on supporting growth by helping to address industry recruitment and retention challenges.

The ECITB forecasts 25,000 additional workers are needed for major projects, including those related to net zero, by 2026, placing employers in direct competition for labour from £650bn of infrastructure projects in the wider UK economy. And the UK government’s energy security strategy has upped the stakes further, the ECITB says, by placing greater pressure on industry and the engineering construction supply chain to expand to meet new energy generating capacity targets.

ECITB chief executive Chris Claydon said: “The engineering construction industry and its supply chain companies design, deliver and decommission many of England, Scotland and Wales’s critical infrastructure projects, and therefore is central to the nation’s energy security and energy transition ambitions.

“The ECITB’s new strategy is designed to help address the main workforce challenges facing this critical industry over the next three years. We have prioritised support for new entrants and new pathways to industry in anticipation of the forecast labour shortages and will fund training to bridge skills gaps through support for new training around net zero projects, including digital skills.

“In developing the strategy, the ECITB has listened closely to employers, training providers, government representatives and other key stakeholders. We aim to deliver what industry has said it needs – a focus on attracting and developing new talent and the provision of high-quality training across Britain.

“For the ECITB, our mission to lead industry learning has never been more important than it is now.”

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