Confirmation of a £625 million investment in training 60,000 construction workers to help reach housebuilding targets has been welcomed by insulation specialist Actis.

The funding, confirmed in the recent spring statement, is a vital component of the government’s plan to deliver 1.5 million new homes during the course of the current parliament.

Actis has long championed the need to encourage more people to consider careers in the construction industry, with its own youth outreach programmes playing a part in instilling passion for a range of construction-focused careers.

Alongside other industry players it has been concerned about dwindling numbers, with a recent Checkatrade report highlighting the scale of the problem and revealing that the UK needs another 1.3 million skilled workers and 350,000 apprentices.

Actis UK and Ireland sales director Mark Cooper says the heavyweight investment is vital if the UK is to achieve its housebuilding goals while ensuring all homes are thermally efficient and of high quality.

“The need for a solid investment in training the next generation of construction professionals has long been recognised within the industry. But there are of course other hurdles to overcome in order to meet the housing targets – planning reform, land availability, affordability, infrastructure issues and local sentiment,” he said.

The funding will see £100 million invested in creating ten new technical excellence colleges, and £165 million used to enable existing colleges to expand the number of construction courses they offer.

A further £100 million will enable Skills Bootcamps to expand within the sector, offering opportunities for returners, new recruits or those wishing to upskill.

Foundation apprenticeships launching this summer will benefit from a £40 million injection, £20 million will facilitate partnerships between construction colleges and industry, boosting the number of teachers with construction experience via the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and employers will receive £2,000 apiece for recruiting and training apprentices.

Mark believes offsite-constructed homes will be an important part of the housing mix. They can be built up to 30% more quickly than traditional brick and block, enabling developers to deliver homes at a faster rate and using fewer man hours per unit.

“In addition to the benefit of build speed, quality is far better controlled, and the homes can be thermally superb,” he said.

“Elements such as wiring, plumbing and insulation take place offsite and our Hybrid and Eolis HC systems take between 25 and 50% less time to install than traditional alternatives, which contributes to the speed of the overall process. A typical on-site build time is then between seven and 12 days.”

In addition to its youth outreach initiatives, Actis, whose Hybrid range and two-in-one Eolis HC are an increasingly popular choice for specifiers looking for impressive thermal efficiency and ease and cleanliness of use, also helps upskill existing construction professionals.

Its free RIBA-approved CPDs, Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards and Addressing the performance gap with reflective insulation, provide essential advice for architects, specifiers, building control officers and builders.