National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has welcomed the announcements from the Department for Education on apprenticeships, which included a decision to scrap previously restrictive entry requirements.

Under previous rules, would-be apprentices had to have the equivalent of GCSE Maths and English, something many would-be scaffolding apprentices found prohibitive and off-putting. It prevented many would-be apprentices from seeking training in the sector, further hampering efforts to deal with the ongoing skills crisis.

Clive Dickin, CEO, NASC, said: "I am really pleased with today's announcement on the relaxing of previously strict requirements for Maths and English qualifications. These have been preventing many potential candidates from starting an apprenticeship in our sector.

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"Over the last year, I have written several times to various senior politicians on behalf of NASC members and CISRS Centres asking for exactly this kind of change. We're in favour of anything that reduces red tape. Cutting the bureaucracy around apprenticeships could be a major catalyst for growth and will help the sector recruit a lot of young talent that had previously been put off.

"This could be a huge boost for the scaffolding and access sector. Longer-term we are keen to get more funding into training and education initiatives to give a much-needed boost to our home-grown scaffolding talent. Projects such as NASC's collaboration with City & Guilds Training on Scaffolding Skills Bootcamps are an excellent example of the industry’s desire to upskill and train more talent."