The Secretary of State for Skills, John Denham, has announced a series of measures to safeguard house building skills during the economic downturn, including a Government Task Force established with ConstructionSkills, the employer-led Sector Skills Council. It will lead on a rapid response service to find new employer places for apprentices facing redundancy and will ensure there are enough new apprentices in the system to deliver the Government's ambitious house building plans in the future. The immediate task is to support the 1,000 apprentices at risk of not completing their apprenticeship. A network of regional ConstructionSkills staff will be providing a range of support measures to encourage employers to retain their existing apprentices. Where this is not possible, an apprenticeship clearing house developed with the Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS) and the Learning Skills Council (LSC) will encourage employers across the wider construction sector to take on those apprentices at risk.
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