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.’
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