AUDIO NEWS: Joinery firm puts apprentices on hold and 50,000 injured in construction

Joinery firm puts training plans on hold due to plans to cut apprenticeship length, one in 40 construction works injured in last three years and BUS expanded

A joinery firm has paused its training programme over the government’s plans to reform apprenticeships.

Stairways Midlands said the plan from Skills England to shorten the carpentry and joinery apprenticeships from 25 months to just eight was “not fit for purpose”.

The maker of staircases and doors also criticised plans to alter final trainee assessments and said the changes would create a “race to the bottom” in training quality.

Joint managing director of Stairways Midlands, Karen Wood said the company had “no choice” but to withdraw the offer of apprenticeship placements this year.

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There were 50,000 non-fatal workplace injuries in construction in the last three years — that’s according to figures from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).

The stats show that construction had a higher injury rate than either manufacturing or transport, with 2.5% of the workforce getting injured.

Data published under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR), indicate there were over 3,700 non-fatal construction injuries in 2024/25.

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Consumers in England and Wales can now apply for £2,500 off the cost of installing either a heat battery, or air-to-air heat pump, as part of changes to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS).

Since it launched in 2022, the scheme has been a key driver in the adoption of low carbon heating systems, with over 2,000 heat pumps fitted in September alone.

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