Why Burnham needs to be bold and go Dutch to tackle the youth jobs crisis and address our construction skills shortage

The headline figures around youth unemployment make for deeply uncomfortable reading: Across the UK there are nearly one million young people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training - the so-called Neets.

Even more stark is what will be the continuing impact on the next generation, should we continue on the same trajectory.

Recent research from the Centre for Social Justice estimates that the equivalent of four children in every classroom in the final year of primary school are expected to end up on out-of-work benefits by the time they reach the age of 21.

For any advanced economy and cohesive society this is clearly unsustainable. Both from a direct financial perspective in terms of lost economic output and additional government spending, but crucially from an opportunity costs on the lives of those individuals blighted by this challenge.

Former Health Secretary Alan Milburn, who has reported to the government on this crisis, calls this an “economic catastrophe” as well as a “moral crisis” and on both counts he’s not wrong.

For these reasons it is crucial that tthis government, now led by Andy Burnham, firmly grasps the nettle on tackling this issue and genuinely makes some bold and radical interventions to reverse this youth opportunity decline.

One prominent challenge is a housebuilding industry increasingly impeded by a growing shortage of skilled trades and construction workers

Central to this has to be seriously exploring what has worked in other countries, like the Netherlands, which has successfully started to reduce youth unemployment, as well as tackling one of the other great challenges the UK faces – our housing crisis and inability to deliver new homes.

A lack of new homes is down to a number of reasons, but one prominent challenge is a housebuilding industry increasingly impeded by a growing shortage of skilled trades and construction workers.

This situation is only likely to get worse despite rises in technology and shifts away from traditional house building delivery methods.

In all of the reading of otherwise gloomy data and trends, there is one glimmer of hope emerging. This is that recent research from Checkatrade found that almost 40% of under 25s believe that an apprenticeship is more appealing than a degree and almost half of young people are considering a job as a plumber, builder or electrician.

In the Netherlands, the construction sector has played a very significant role in reducing youth unemployment, as well as providing a clear blueprint for the UK to follow. This is significant, not least due to the relative economic and cultural similarity between the UK and the Netherlands.

Dutch policy-makers ensure that at every stage, from education to the workplace, young people are better able to participate in the modern economy. This has paid dividends, with the Dutch Neet rate now the lowest in Europe.

But this will only work if in the UK we begin to see parity in how we treat people with a technical versus a university education.

As a you would expect, at Vistry as one of the largest UK housebuilders, we have a vested interest in a competitive construction sector, equipped with a growing pipeline of skilled trades. But we also have a moral interest too, to ensure that the sector creates and sustains a technical and skills legacy, as well as a place-making one.

It is for this reason that Vistry has operated an extensive skills and training programme for many years. One which combats the industry’s skills gap through targeted training academies, modern methods of construction (MMC) training, and structured apprenticeship pathways.

Could we be doing more? Undoubtedly and one of my objectives for Vistry is to do more and to go further and faster on aligning the future needs of the housebuilding sector with the outcomes of the UK’s technical education programme.

However, the full benefits of this can only be realised if we truly do go Dutch – splitting the onus and costs of delivery equally between the public and private sector for mutual benefit to enable the UK to become a construction skills superpower.

The gain for the housebuilding sector is significant, not least given that we need at least 1.3 million additional tradespeople over the next decade to support housing delivery and our continued transition to net zero.

The devolution agenda offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to position construction skills at the heart of devolved policy around technical education and training

The gain for the government should be obvious. An increase in productivity, reduction in the benefits bill and enhanced life changes for a whole cohort of young people. The only key question remaining is how this is delivered.

We would suggest that the devolution agenda offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to position construction skills at the heart of devolved policy around technical education and training.

We also recommend mayoral technical academies for construction and trades in every mayoral authority in England, closely aligned with the housebuilding and wider construction sector.

Why not? Given the clear benefit to the economy and based upon growing demand from young people increasingly fearful of AI displacement to learn a trade.

This may require some bold leadership, and at times radical thinking, plus some serious investment from the private sector, but the ultimate prize is worth it. That would be a technical and vocational education system finely tuned and closely aligned to the jobs market. One that not only gives our young people hope, but that precious pillar to their life chances, a home to call their own.

Stephen Teagle is chief executive of Vistry’s partnerships and regeneration division