A new £1 million training scheme for non-construction staff has been launched by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

The initiative aims to train staff, such as in sales and marketing or business development employees, to the required level of training in order to deliver more homes.

The move comes as the number of homes built over the last two years has increased, while the Government's Spending Review revealed plans to build 400,000 homes by 2020.

In addition, a portion of the fund has been set aside to further train sales and marketing staff.

Stewart Baseley, HBF Executive Chairman, said: "The past two years have seen tens of thousands of new people recruited into housebuilding and a significant increase in the number of homes being built. As we look to increase output still further it is imperative we continue to increase industry capacity and develop the skilled workforce required to build the high quality homes the country needs.

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"The house building process is an extremely complex one requiring a great number of people with very different skills. If we are to provide the high quality homes and the level of customer service today's new build customer demands we need to ensure every member of staff in every part of the process is trained to the best possible standard. This scheme we are delighted to launch with CITB will enable HBF members to provide more of their employees with further training and development."

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at CITB, said: "Industry told us that more needed to be done to address the range of skills challenges in the housebuilding sector. Working with HBF, this new pilot fund is a first step in addressing that important issue and testing how this approach could be employed in other parts of construction.

"This £1 million pot of money will boost technical skills in the sector to ensure that we can build the homes the country needs."

(LM/CD)