Built Environment Groups Fight Apprenticeship Reforms 

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22 October 2025

A coalition of UK construction and built environment groups are warning the government that newly proposed apprenticeship reforms will "spell disaster for the construction industry”.

Skills England, which sits under the Department for Education and is responsible for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), announced that the minimum duration of an apprenticeship in England will be shortened from 12 months to 8 months.

A new coalition, spearheaded by the British Woodworking Federation, believes that this will have a negative impact on “every apprenticeship across all levels.”

23 organisations from across the construction sector, including the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and the Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), have signed a letter to lobby the government and challenge the apprenticeship reforms.

The group also takes issue with Skills England’s plans to assess apprentices. Under the planned reforms, each assessment organisation will be asked to select a small sample of criteria to infer an apprentice’s overall competence, replacing the previous requirement for apprentices to demonstrate proficiency against all Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviour criteria.

The letter states: “Whilst Skills England have gone on to qualify the use of sampling somewhat, it is likely any form of sampling will create inconsistency across different assessment providers and stimulate a race to the bottom, as providers are incentivised to create lighter touch assessments to secure better pass rates and cost efficiencies.”

'Direct Conflict' With Building Safety Legislation

The coalition also believes that the reforms conflict with the Building Safety Act 2022 and Dame Judith Hackitt’s call for a "universal shift in culture" to ensure properly qualified and competent individuals work on buildings.

The group says that the proposed changes will threaten both the quality of training and building safety, and will have consequences for the government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million new homes.

The letter can be read, in full, here.

Picture: a photograph of a person connecting a cable into a server rack in a dark room. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 22 October 2025

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