Over 300 apprentices formerly employed by construction giant Carillion have been made redundant.
In a move branded “crass stupidity” by Unite the Union, the government’s Insolvency Service said the official receiver for Carillion decided 341 Carillion apprentices were “no longer required”.
The union has also criticised the timing of the decision, as Parliament began its summer recess last week, preventing MPs from raising concerns at the decision.
When Carillion collapsed in January it employed 1,200 apprentices and, following the company’s demise, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has found suitable placements for over 800 of the affected apprentices.
Apprentices ‘treated appallingly’
Unite assistant general secretary, Gail Cartmail said it was an “appalling way to treat these apprentices who should have become the backbone of the industry,” adding: “To dump them and to destroy their training is an act of crass stupidity.
“These actions highlight the government’s total failure to assist the workers who have been most affected by Carillion’s collapse through no fault of their own.
“The government could have used its procurement power to find placements for these apprentices but it chose not to, demonstrating that it is not serious about dealing with the skills crisis facing the industry.”
Loss of construction apprentices
She added: “The dismissal of Carillion’s remaining apprentices once again demonstrates that the construction skills crisis will not be tackled until procurement rules are introduced which require that all companies undertaking public sector contracts must train apprentices.”
Unite said the loss of Carillion apprentices will not help the construction sector’s skills gap. In 2016-17, the union said there were just 21,010 people on construction apprentice courses and the decision to make the remaining Carillion apprentices redundant reduced the entire UK’s construction apprenticeship numbers by 1.6 per cent.
A spokesperson for Unite said the government should have used its procurement power to ensure that all of Carillion’s apprentices were found suitable new placements.
‘A huge ask to find new jobs’
Mark Dawe, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said “lessons can be learned”.
He added: “CITB have undoubtedly worked hard to safeguard the futures of as many apprentices they can but, in our view, it was always going to be a huge ask for one provider on its own to find new jobs for all of them.
“This is why immediately after Carillion’s collapse AELP offered the assistance of some its construction provider members but this offer wasn’t taken up. We think lessons can be learnt from this and other corporate failures which mean better outcomes for apprentices can be secured in the future.”
Staff ‘professional throughout’
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Following the collapse of Carillion the CITB took immediate action to make sure apprenticeship training could continue as normal and we have been working closely with the CITB to find alternative employment for all those apprentices.
“The CITB has confirmed it has found new employment, with wages, for 777 of the apprentices.”
A spokesperson for the official receiver said: “A further 21 jobs have been transferred to new suppliers over the past week and in total, more than 13,500 jobs have been saved. Regrettably, 356 people will be leaving the business as their roles are no longer required but support is available to help them find new work.
“Staff have been professional throughout the liquidation and we will continue to engage with staff, their elected representatives and unions as arrangements are confirmed.”
