Certain industry sectors are heavily dependent on the availability of external labour resources and this can have a significant impact on both overall cost and programme timelines.
This is a particular problem in the Construction industry which has experienced widely reported skilled labour shortages and has seen labour rates increase markedly as a consequence. The BCIS stated that the UK Construction workforce shrank to its lowest level in almost 25 years in Q3 of 2025.
Whilst reducing in numbers the Construction workforce are also ageing with circa 25% now 55+ as compared to only 13% in 2000. The sector is losing more workers annually than it is gaining and is due to see 0.75m of a 2.5m workforce (30%) retire over the next 10 years.
An In-house Training Academy is a company’s own internal training facility to develop the skill set of new employees using its own internal resources to deliver specific customised, relevant and cost-effective training. Such a facility allows a business to recruit staff from a wide labour pool, build staff skills specific to its own requirements and reduce its reliance on external subcontract labour.
The Anshore Team has experience of the challenges that come with the reliance on external 3rd party labour which include reliability, quality control, increasing cost, delays etc. and successfully delivered the setting up of an in-house training academy within the construction sector actively recruited a team with no previous experience, who were trained in the skills and adopted the practices that were required.
The advantages of an In-house Training Academy include :
- It avoids many of the issues that come with the reliance on external 3rd party labour
- Allows recruitment from a wide labour pool
- Labour costs are more easily managed
- Allows skills that are a specific requirement of the business to be taught
- Ensures improved and consistent Quality Control
- Allows operatives to feel part of the business and its culture
- Provides greater levels of motivation and job satisfaction
- Provides greater control and accountability of labour