West Midlands takes next step towards new Construction Skills Academy

By Danny BallPublished On: September 29th, 2026Categories: News, Top Stories

The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and CITB have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a National Skills Academy for Construction in the region.

The partnership will bring together employers, training providers, government and local decision-makers to help address construction workforce shortages and align skills provision with future demand.

CITB forecasts that the West Midlands will need to recruit more than 3,800 additional construction workers every year for the next five years.

New construction skills academy planned for West Midlands

The partnership forms part of CITB’s national initiative to develop a connected construction skills network across England.

The proposed National Skills Academy for Construction will support closer collaboration between the construction industry and training providers, with a focus on identifying skills gaps and improving workforce planning.

An agreement will allow the WMCA to analyse live data from construction sites across the region to identify skills requirements and help inform training provision.

West Midlands construction workforce faces 12,000 worker shortfall

The skills partnership comes as the region prepares for increased housing and regeneration activity.

The West Midlands recorded 7,237 new homes contracted over the previous year, including 2,452 affordable homes and 1,086 homes for social rent.

WMCA and CITB said the new partnership will use workforce and construction site data to identify emerging skills gaps and help ensure training is aligned with projects being delivered across the region.

The agreement follows a similar partnership between CITB and Liverpool City Region.

Tim Balcon, CEO of CITB, said: “Addressing the construction industry’s skills needs requires industry-wide collaboration, strong partnerships with central and local governments, and long-term commitment.

“This is the latest strategic partnership we’re establishing with mayoralties across the country, strengthening relationships between employers, training providers and local decision-makers, creating a stronger foundation for addressing emerging skills challenges at a local level.

“The Memorandum of Understanding is an important step towards establishing a National Skills Academy for Construction and ensuring the workforce is ready to meet future demand.”

City Centre South Skills Centre supports construction training

The agreement also follows the opening of a Skills Centre at City Centre South in Coventry, a £450m regeneration project being delivered by Hill Group.

The centre is intended to provide training and employment opportunities linked to construction activity on the regeneration scheme.

Andy Hill OBE, Founder and Group Chief Executive of The Hill Group, said: “The construction industry can only deliver the homes and regeneration projects our communities need if we have the skilled people to build them. The new Skills Centre at City Centre South is a great example of how industry and local partners can work together to give people the skills and confidence to start a career in construction.

“We welcome this MoU between the CITB and WMCA, which will help create moreMidlands partnership is expected to support workforce planning by bringing together labour market data, employer pathways into the industry and ensure local people can benefit from the significant investment taking place across the region.”