Construction union UCATT has described the latest figures which show a 14.6% fall in construction apprenticeship numbers as "devastating".

Figures released by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills have revealed that there were just 24,000 apprenticeship starts in Construction, Planning and the Built Environment in 2011/12 , a decline of 14.6% on the previous year.

Despite the on-going recession in construction, a report by the Construction Skills Network last month, found that the industry still requires 29,050 new entrants every year to replace workers leaving the industry. When the industry begins to recover that number will increase dramatically.

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The fall in construction apprenticeships comes a week after the Government rejected proposals made by the BIS select committee that public sector procurement contracts should require all companies bidding for such work to train apprentices.

Steve Murphy, General Secretary of UCATT, said: "The latest figures for apprenticeships in the construction industry are devastating; the failure to train sufficient numbers of highly skilled workers will create long-term problems for the industry. The short term mind-set of much of the construction industry leads to a failure to invest in apprentices."

(CD)