More National skills academies

Contractors involved include Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Denne Construction. To house an academy, projects should be valued at more than £100m or running for more than three years.

The idea of the academies is to bring more local people into construction and improve the skills levels of those already working in the industry. On-site classrooms will be used to train both tradespeople and professionals. ConstructionSkills will assess the skills gaps in supply chains and work with contractors, clients and colleges to provide the necessary tuition. It’s hoped that the problem of would-be apprentices who can’t get the necessary practical experience will be partially tackled through this route.

The first academy was launched in November 2006 on Balfour Beatty’s Bishopsgate site in the City of London, with seven more opening last year. The prime minister has said that all five main Olympic buildings will be academies. A total of 30 are planned before 2010.