Decision details

This report informs members of a successful bid to the Construction Skills Fund (CSF) operated by the Construction Industry Training Board.  The bid was submitted on behalf of a consortium that includes Sheffield City Council, The Sheffield Housing Company, Keepmoat and Engie.

This report seeks approval, for Sheffield City Council to act as the accountable body and to work in partnership with consortium members to deliver the required training and on site work experience.

The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills:-

(i) approves Sheffield City Council acting as the accountable body for the Construction Skills Fund programme on behalf of The Sheffield Housing Company, Engie, and Keepmoat and thereby accepting the Construction Industry Training Board grant offer of £715,914, subject to the final terms and conditions being the same as those summarised in the Report;

(ii) approves agreements being entered into with The Sheffield Housing Company, Engie, and Keepmoat, as appropriate, and payments of grant being made thereunder; and

(iii) grants delegated authority to the Executive Director, People Services, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, the Director of Finance and Commercial Services and the Director of Legal Services, to:

o    accept and administer the Construction Skills Fund in the event that the final terms and conditions are not the same as those summarised in the report; and

o    agree the procurement strategy for and award contracts as required to deliver the outcomes.

There are approximately 10,000 people employed within 1,925 construction firms across Sheffield. 92.7% of these firms are micro (0-9 employees) The top five skills requested by recruiting construction firms in Sheffield in 2017/18 were Plumbing, Painting & Decorating, Carpentry, Joinery and Bricklaying. Over the next 10 years Sheffield is embarking on an ambitious home building scheme that will see in excess of 10,000 new homes constructed. In order to meet the anticipated demand for skills that this will entail, attracting large volumes of individuals to the house building sector is essential.  In tandem during the 2017/18 period 410 people on the Jobseekers Allowance register with limited or no experience to offer, were looking for work within the construction sector. This figure excludes those claiming Universal Credit for which there is no published data regarding occupational choices currently available. 

This proposal aligns the Construction Skills Funding available to the skills gaps that Sheffield’s construction sector faces and will focus on attracting residents: 

• with no construction experience

• those from under-represented groups
• individuals whose industry roles are at risk of redundancy or automation

This approach will provide 650 of Sheffield’s residents with the opportunity to access employer led training within the construction sector with a minimum of 250 participants gaining sustainable employment

The Council could decide not to accept the grant.  However, at this time there are no known alternative options to consider that offer additional support and funding for these groups and so this option is not recommended.