The Association has recruited a team of skills and policy specialists who will focus on improving the sector’s apprenticeship approach and work closely with the further education sector to improve training provision and skills development.

It will also provide more direct support to member companies to address their specific skills requirements through Skills Health Checks.

The new department has been created after 18 months of in-depth research into the sector's needs.

This highlighted the sheer scale of the chronic skills shortage, which BESA says is hampering business growth and the industry’s ability to improve building performance.

As a result, the new skills and policy team has also been tasked with driving improvements in industry standards, policies, and regulations related to skills.

“Our members continually refer to skills shortages as the biggest barrier to growing their businesses, delivering vital building upgrade projects and meeting the country's ambitions to reduce carbon emissions from the built environment,” said chief executive officer David Frise.

The new government has made addressing skill shortages in technical professions a critical factor in its growth strategy. According to BESA, July’s launch of Skills England – a new body with an expanded remit to address skills gaps and demand – is another opportunity to refresh the industry’s approach.

The new department will also help the sector navigate recently announced changes to apprenticeship funding and introduce new foundation apprenticeships designed to encourage more young people to take up careers in construction and ‘green’ technologies.