CLC to launch construction placements playbook at employer webinar on 11 November

The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) will give employers first access to a new Construction Industry Placements Playbook at an online webinar on 11 November 2026, trade body FIS said on 16 October.

The hour-long session, which runs from 12 noon to 1pm on Microsoft Teams, is intended to help construction employers offer work placements, according to FIS. Registration is through a link titled CSMB Work Placement Webinar, tying the event to the Construction Skills Mission Board (CSMB).

FIS described the Playbook as an easy-to-use guide to work placements. The webinar will also set out the funding available to employers that take on placement students.

Beena Nana, FIS Head of Skills, said: "Industry placements, done right gives individuals a chance to see what a career in construction really looks like, while helping employers connect with potential future recruits."

She added: "This webinar and the new Playbook are aimed to help employers take that vital first step."

The placements workstream

Industry placements are one of the CSMB's priority workstreams, alongside improved skills intelligence and pathways for young people not in education, employment or training, according to the board's Spring 2026 update, which FIS reported in April. FIS chief executive Iain McIlwee is working closely with the board.

The CSMB held its first meeting in June 2025, co-chaired by Mark Reynolds, Co-Chair of the CLC, according to GOV.UK. The Department for Education said in August 2025 that the industry-led board had pledged to recruit an additional 100,000 construction workers a year, and the Spring 2026 update describes its work as supporting the 100,000 new workers a year needed by 2029.

The board is backed by a £625m Construction Skills Package, which HM Treasury announced in March 2025 as funding over this Parliament. The Treasury said the government was providing £100m, alongside a £32m contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), for up to 40,000 industry placements in construction each year. A June 2025 GOV.UK release put the figure at more than 40,000 placements funded through the £100m and £32m, without the annual framing.

Package element (HM Treasury, March 2025)	Funding
Industry placements (plus £32m from CITB)	£100m
35,000 additional Skills Bootcamp places	£100m
10 construction Technical Excellence Colleges in England	£100m

The package also aims to support up to 10,000 more young people into construction Foundation Apprenticeships, the Treasury said. The Department for Education said the Technical Excellence Colleges will train 40,000 construction learners by 2029. The government said the overall package would create up to 60,000 more jobs for engineers, electricians and joiners by the end of the Parliament.

Funding for employers

The Department for Education published guidance in May 2026 for providers and Mayoral Strategic Authorities delivering construction industry placements in the 2026 to 2027 academic year, covering how funding can support employer costs.

The CSMB's Spring 2026 update reported that direct construction employment dipped slightly towards the end of 2025 while total construction jobs increased.

The CLC's People and Skills workstream lists simplifying routes into the industry and supporting apprentices and entrants among its priorities, with the stated aim of attracting talent and enhancing skills for the future.

Registration for the 11 November webinar is open through the CSMB Work Placement Webinar link on the FIS website.