Balfour, Bam among firms backing £1.2m scheme to ‘loan’ out employees
27 Jul 2020 By Megan Kelly
A £1.2m scheme that aims to keep workers in the construction industry has the backing of Balfour Beatty, Mace, Tideway and more than 400 other companies.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) said firms would be able to “loan” employees at risk of redundancy to each other as part of its Talent Retention Scheme website.
These loans are meant to encourage workers who are at risk of losing their jobs to stay in the sector in other temporary roles. The site also aims to bring workers who have already been made redundant back into construction jobs, as well as helping people from outside the sector .
Current partners of the scheme also include Bam Nuttall, Bouygues UK, EDF, Keltbray, Taylor Wimpey, Travis Perkins and WSP.
Construction minister and CLC co-chair Nadhim Zahawi said: “This scheme will help to retain vital knowledge within the construction industry, enabling businesses to rapidly recruit talented individuals and reduce skills shortages at this pivotal time in the nation’s economic recovery.”
Establishment of the website has been funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to the tune of £1.2m up until the end of the financial year. Zahawi told parliament that costs for the scheme will be supported by industry from April 2021.
A statement from the CLC said the site would be free to use until April 2021 but did not state how it would be used afterwards.
Tideway chief executive and CLC co-chair Andy Mitchell said the scheme will be an “important element of the CLC’s recovery plan for the construction sector”, adding that it will offer the industry an opportunity “to keep the vital skills it needs to drive growth across the UK”.