The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) has expressed full support for a number of measures to secure jobs within the construction industry announced within the Chancellor’s statement recently (8 July).
One of the key announcements in the written statement is the launch of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme (CTRS), a partnership between the Government and industry to secure essential talent in the UK construction sector.
The CTRS will be run by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) which is made up of trade and business associations from across the supply chain, including the BMF. It is designed to keep skills in the sector, matching displaced workers with employers seeking new staff. It is based on a proven model to safeguard talent in the aerospace and automotive sectors.
Formally launching later this month, the CTRS will be an online portal that supports redeployment of staff at risk redundancy across the sector, while also enabling temporary employee loans between businesses. The scheme will also give displaced workers from other sectors a route to find new employment in construction.
John Newcomb, BMF CEO, said: “Covid-19 has already had an impact and we are seeing businesses having to reduce their workforce. We need to keep the skills built up over many years within the industry in order to secure construction’s long-term recovery.
“The CLC’s Talent Retention Scheme, alongside the financial measures announced by the Chancellor to encourage businesses to employ and train young people and provide quality apprenticeships, will help to retain our talent base and redeploy their skills across the entire sector as well as well moving to secure the future by investing in the next generation.”
The CTRS has funding secured from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy until the end of the financial year, providing a free online platform for any organisation looking to hire, while ensuring that candidates’ skills and experience are given a prominent platform within the industry.
John added: “This is a proven programme, with no cost for users, that is supported by the entire construction industry bringing significant scope and scale to its successful delivery. We will be promoting the CTRS online portal extensively within the building materials sector and encouraging BMF merchant and supplier members to register their interest so they are fully up to speed when the portal goes live.”
Businesses can register their interest in the scheme at: www.trs-system.co.uk/construction
