- 09/05/2017
- Posted by: Mike Hedges MS
- Categories: Latest News, Press Releases
Mike Hedges AM chaired the Cross Party Meeting on Housing today which focussed on whether or not the Welsh Economy had the necessary skilled work force to deliver the target of 21000 new homes in 5 years.
The meeting heard from industry experts and people within the Housing sector on how big the challenge will be to meet this target. The meeting heard that Offsite construction offered one avenue for increasing the number of houses built in Wales and this is expected to be one of the major growth areas within the House building sector within the next 5 years.
Mark Boden from CITB told the meeting that the target of 21000 new homes presented significant opportunities for the construction industry in Wales, with opportunities for Welsh firms to be part of the supply chains for new house building projects. It also offered new employment opportunities for people looking for careers within the construction industry, but employment in the sector would require support to ensure that people with the right mix of skills were able to take up the jobs created.
Mike Hedges said…. ‘The target of 21000 new homes within 5 years is very challenging – but like all challenges, it presents opportunities, opportunities for Welsh Firms to take advantage of and for people in Wales to join an expanding industry with good long term prospects.
The different parts of the industry represented at the meeting offered assurance that this challenging target can be met with benefits for the Welsh Economy, providing workers with the right skill mix can be introduced to the construction industry work force. CITB and House Building companies are already working together to train new entrants with those skills but we need to ensure that the Welsh Government plays its part in supporting the up skilling of workers for the construction industry.’
