WE used to be a home building country. A nation proud to build homes for families, with the skilled workforce to make it happen.

In 1968, we built more than 350,000 houses In England.

2

But by 2023, this figure had fallen by a third.

We have become a country where the growth of more builders, more brickyards and chippies has simply not been a priority. A country where trade has simply not been taken seriously.

And the cost was enormous. Every unbuilt house is an unlived house, an unfulfilled family dream.

And too many families have been forced to give up their dreams of buying a good home.

Being able to afford decent housing, a place to raise a family and build a life, should not be just a dream.

I know, as Sun readers know, that this should be a right.

This new government will therefore get Britain to rebuild, providing 1.5 million new homes for familiesin every corner of the country.

But if we want to achieve this, we need to take skills seriously again.

We have forgotten the value of skilled trades for this country. We ignored technical training. We have disdained learning.

The last government must look in the mirror. I warned them repeatedly that the number of young people entering apprenticeships was falling, and what was their reaction? A shrug.

Today, we are all paying the price: we lack the skilled labor force to build the new homes this country desperately needs.

But that is changing now. A revolution in residential construction calls for a revolution in skills.

So we are working in partnership with FE colleges and industry to create 32 new residential construction skills hubs and deliver accelerated construction apprenticeships across the country. England get construction move forward as quickly as possible: there is no time to lose.

A new army of apprentices will help build homes and boost the Government’s growth mission – backed by £140m of industrial investment.

Our new skills centers will offer special accelerated apprenticeships in just over a year, or half the time of a traditional apprenticeship in the building industry.

The Construction Industry Training Council and the National House Building Council will ensure these new builders are up to the task.

More than 5,000 new construction apprenticeships will be made available, generating growth for our economy and good jobs for our young people.

And good jobs mean good wages – that’s why we’re increasing apprentice wages by following year. An 18-year-old construction apprentice will see their minimum hourly wage increase by 18%.

I believe we can return to the golden age of residential construction

Brigitte Phillipson

Working hand-in-hand with a new organization we have created, Skills England, we will identify skills gaps at a local level, moving support to where it is most needed.

This is how we ensure we have the skills needed to build the right homes in the right places.

But we won’t just build houses. We will build a better future for our young people. Building a better Britain. The Sun understands – their Builder of a better Britain the campaign is in full swing.

But to build this better futurewe must first look back and learn from our mistakes.

Because there was a time in our past when this country valued skills properly, when skilled workers got the respect they deserve, when building homes was a national priority and not an afterthought.

I believe we can return to the golden age of home building. This is why we are supporting our young people with thousands of additional apprenticeship places.

For Britain to rebuild, for Britain to grow again and to deliver the good homes that every family deserves.

2