More than 20 major construction bodies, including the NASC, have signed an open letter urging the Prime Minister to abandon plans that would cut apprenticeship training to just eight months.
A powerful coalition of over 20 leading construction industry organisations, including the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC), has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, warning that proposed government reforms to apprenticeships could “spell disaster” for skills, safety, and competence in the sector.
The open letter, coordinated by the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), condemns Skills England’s proposal to shorten apprenticeships to as little as eight months and to replace comprehensive end-point assessments with lighter “sampling” checks.
Industry leaders say the plans would undermine confidence in training, weaken pathways into skilled work, and put the government’s own economic and housing targets at risk.
Helen Hewitt, chief executive of the BWF and lead signatory, said: “The government’s proposed apprenticeship reforms risk dismantling the foundations of competence and safety in our industry.
By shortening the duration of apprenticeships and replacing rigorous, impartial assessments with lighter-touch alternatives, these changes threaten to dilute skills, undermine confidence, and create dangerous inconsistencies across the construction sector.”
The letter warns that the reforms run contrary to the principles of the Building Safety Act and Dame Judith Hackitt’s recommendations on competence-led training.
It also cautions that government-driven assessment plans could invalidate trusted industry schemes such as CSCS cards, while fuelling a “race to the bottom” among training providers competing to deliver the fastest completions.
With an estimated 250,000 additional workers needed to meet national housing and infrastructure goals, the coalition says construction employers will no longer trust apprenticeships if they are reduced to a fast-track model prioritising cost over capability.
A spokesperson for the NASC told Scaffmag: “The government’s intention is that this is clearly part of the focus on reducing the bureaucratic burdens it sees as slowing down building and hampering growth.
While NASC applauds the focus on construction as a driver of growth, we are concerned that the impact of these reforms will be to weaken the vocational learning process across the sector.
NASC (including CISRS) is against any reduction in quality. Consequently, the CISRS training programmes won’t change as a result of these changes. When it comes to scaffolding training, reducing quality means reducing safety, which NASC and its members refuse to accept.”
The spokesperson added, “NASC is concerned that these reforms, while well-intentioned, are watering down apprenticeships and may yet end up leading to a reduction in funding. As a construction sector supplier, we want a competent workforce working across all the systems the scaffolding and access sector delivers.
This is why NASC has agreed to support the sector-wide letter calling for a rethink. That government policies often come with the risk of unintended consequences is widely recognised, but in this instance, the potential for these reforms to reduce industry competence makes them impossible to support.”
The letter concludes with a warning that, if implemented, the reforms would affect every apprenticeship delivered in England, with implications reaching far beyond construction.
“At a time when the country urgently needs more skilled workers, cutting corners on training is a short-sighted and dangerous path,” Hewitt added. “We strongly urge Skills England and the Government to listen to employers, training providers, and industry bodies before it’s too late.”
