We support our young people with apprenticeships to keep Britain growing and create the good homes families deserve.

We used to be a house-building country. A nation that prided itself on building homes for families and had the skilled workforce to make it happen.

In 1968 we built over 350,000 homes in England.

2

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

We have become a country where increasing the number of builders, bricklayers and chippies is simply not a priority. A country where trade is simply not taken seriously.

And the price was huge. Every unbuilt house is a house that has not been lived in, an unfulfilled family dream.

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

Being able to afford a decent home, a place to raise a family and build a life, shouldn’t just be a dream.

I know, as Sun readers know, that this must be right.

So this new government will get Britain building again, delivering 1.5 million new homes for families in every corner of the country.

But if we’re going to do this, we need to get serious about skills again.

We have forgotten the value of skilled trades for this country. We ignored technical training. We looked down on apprenticeship.

The latest government needs to look in the mirror. I warned them time and time again that the number of young people entering apprenticeships was falling and what was their response? Shrug.

Now we’re all paying the price – we don’t have enough skilled labor to build the new homes this country desperately needs.

But now that is changing. A revolution in housing requires a revolution in skills.

That’s why we’re working with colleges and the FE industry to create 32 new Home Construction Skills Centers and deliver fast-track construction training across England to ensure construction progresses as quickly as possible – there’s no time to waste.

A new army of apprentices will help build homes and accelerate the Government’s economic growth mission, backed by £140 million of investment in industry.

Our new skills centers will provide dedicated, accelerated training in just one year, twice as fast as traditional construction training.

The Construction Trades Training Council and the National Housing Council will ensure that these new builders are up to par.

More than 5,000 new construction apprenticeships will be created, delivering growth to our economy and good jobs for our young people.

And a good job means a good salary, so we increase students’ wages from next year. The minimum hourly pay for an 18-year-old construction apprentice will increase by 18%.

I believe we can return to the golden age of home building.

Bridget Phillipson

Working hand in hand with the new organization we have created, Skills England, we will identify local skills gaps and target support where it is needed most.

This is how we provide the necessary skills to build the right houses in the right places.

But we won’t just build houses. We will build a better future for our youth. Building a better Britain. The Sun understands this: their Builder Better Britain campaign is in full swing.

But to build it better futurefirst we need to look back and learn from our mistakes.

Because there was a time in our past when skills were properly valued in this country, when skilled workers were respected, when building houses was a national priority and not an afterthought.

I believe we can return to the golden age of home building. That’s why we support our young people with thousands more internships.

So that Britain can start to build again, so that Britain can grow again and build the good homes that every family deserves.

2