North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to address an identified shortage of appropriately skilled construction workers in Wales by investing in training and skills.

Mr Isherwood raised the matter with the Economy Minister Edwina Hart AM in the Assembly Chamber yesterday.

He said:

“The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Cymru has identified a lack of appropriately skilled construction workers as a barrier to workforce planning and the greatest barrier to reaping the opportunities presented for the sector in Wales over successive years. How, therefore, do you respond to the call in their 2016 manifesto for support for growth and productivity in construction through skills and training reform?”

The Minister told Mr Isherwood that her colleague, the Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, “has all these matters in hand”.

Mr Isherwood added: “When I recently met CITB Wales to discuss their proposals for a renewed focus on the construction sector in Wales after the May 2016 election for the National Assembly for Wales, they told me that the skills requirements of the construction workforce were key and that companies need sustainability in workforce planning and therefore investment in training and skills.”