CITB's Accelerated Apprenticeships: Greater Manchester is in the first wave
CITB has launched Accelerated Apprenticeships, a faster route into three of the trades housebuilding needs most: bricklaying, carpentry and roofing. Greater Manchester is one of the first five regions to get a programme.
What’s different
- Faster. Apprentices can qualify in as little as 14 to 18 months, against the usual two to three years.
- Front-loaded. Intensive learning at the start, then block-release training alongside real on-site experience.
- Focused on homes. Bricklaying, carpentry and roofing, the trades most in demand for housebuilding.
- Scaled up over time. CITB is aiming for 1,680 starts across four years.
Where it’s starting
The first phase covers five regions:
- Greater Manchester
- West Yorkshire
- The West Midlands
- Kent
- Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire
The programmes run through further education colleges and training providers, with CITB offering each an initial set-up fund of up to £33,625. A further 15 programmes are planned by mid-2029, sited in the areas with the highest housing demand.
Why now
The scheme is tied directly to the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. That target only works if there are enough people who can lay bricks, hang doors and put roofs on, and the traditional two to three year route can’t produce them fast enough.
“Meeting the scale of the UK’s housing need requires a step change in how we train people for construction careers.”
Tim Balcon, Chief Executive, CITB
What it means for Greater Manchester
Being in the first wave means people here get access before most of the country. For local employers it’s a quicker way to bring new bricklayers, carpenters and roofers through, and CITB’s New Entrant Support Team can help with recruiting candidates, accessing funding and arranging the training.
Before the apprenticeship
A faster apprenticeship still needs people ready to start one. Plenty of people who’d make good tradespeople have never set foot on a site, don’t hold a CSCS card, and don’t know where to begin.
That’s the gap Frameworks Social Enterprise works in. Our cohort programmes take people who are too often left out of construction, including young people not in work or education, women, ex-offenders, veterans and the long-term unemployed, and get them site-ready with the health and safety basics and the CSCS card every site asks for.
Taking on new entrants in Greater Manchester?
If you’re an employer looking for site-ready people, or you want to sponsor a cohort as part of your social value commitments, we’d like to hear from you.
Get in touch