Top role for Windsor

A Shropshire businessman has been recruited to a national cross-industry task force set up to tackle an apprenticeship crisis in the construction industry.

Windsor Powell, owner of a Telford painting and building company, has been appointed to the Cross Industry Apprenticeships Task Force.

He joins key figures from Government departments, employer and federation representatives, union officials and the Learning and Skills Council.

Their brief is to to look into why construction companies are failing to train enough apprentices at a time when the UK faces a massive demand for skilled workers.

More than 30,000 young people applied for construction industry apprenticeships in 2007, but only 5,500 suitable places were offered by employers.

Mr Powell has joined the task force in his position as national councillor for the Painting and Decorating Association, one of the largest trade bodies in the UK, which represents thousands of decorating professionals.

The task force, supported by ConstructionSkills, aims to double the number of apprenticeships offered over the next four years. Extra apprentices are needed as around 7,500 projects are set to start over the next five years on top of current schemes and general maintenance work.

Mr Powell said: “The task force will help to raise awareness of the business benefits of apprenticeships, as well as the risk to industry of not investing in the workforce of the future.

“It is an exciting time for the construction sector, with many major regeneration projects to tackle, including the spin off from the 2012 Olympics in London, so it is crucial that we properly train the workforce of the future.”