Inspire Education Group welcomes CITB to Centre for Green Technology to tackle construction skills gap

Representatives from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) visited the Centre for Green Technology at Peterborough College, part of Inspire Education Group (IEG), to engage directly with the next generation of construction professionals and explore solutions to the sector’s ongoing skills challenges.

The visit brought together CITB officials, staff and students at a critical time for the construction industry, widely recognised as being at a “crossroads” due to a growing mismatch between workforce supply and demand.

During the visit, CITB representatives toured the College’s state-of-the-art facilities and spoke with students about their career ambitions, gaining valuable insight into the experiences and expectations of those preparing to enter the industry. Discussions also focused on the urgent need for more “work-ready” entrants to support national priorities, including housing delivery, retrofit programmes and the transition to net-zero infrastructure.

Staff at IEG highlighted the recruitment challenges currently facing the sector, reflecting national findings that construction continues to experience a high volume of hard-to-fill vacancies. Conversations aligned closely with key themes from the CITB’s Industry Picture report, emphasising the need for coordinated action across four key areas: attracting a broader and more diverse talent pool, strengthening links between training and employment, embracing modern construction methods and technologies, and retaining experienced workers to safeguard vital skills.

Gary McPartland, Assistant Principal at IEG, said:

"It was a pleasure to host CITB today and provide our staff and students with a direct voice to the industry’s leading training body. As we’ve discussed, the construction industry is facing a long-term constraint on workforce capacity that cannot be solved by a 'business as usual' approach.

At IEG, we are committed to ensuring our training is better connected to real-world jobs. By focusing on competency in green technologies, we are preparing our students to not only enter the workforce but to actively improve productivity. Today’s collaboration is essential to building the resilient, skilled workforce the UK requires for the future."

By hosting the visit, Inspire Education Group reinforced its commitment to addressing the skills gap through industry-aligned training and accelerated learning pathways, ensuring students are equipped with the competencies needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving sector.