Designed in collaboration with employers and endorsed by the industry body FIS: Finishes & Interiors Sector, this specialist training programme will launch in March at The Skills Centre’s new green skills training facility in Edgware, run in partnership with Ballymore, Places for London and Barnet Council.

The programme will then expand to The Skills Centre’s Build East facility at The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and into a new customs facility in Essex later this year. 

With demand for new housing and the need to upgrade buildings across the UK to help optimise space and deliver net-zero emissions by 2050, demand for interior systems, insulation and retrofit skills is surging.

Yet, the industry faces a critical shortage of trained professionals. The new interior systems and dry-lining apprenticeship will help bridge this gap by equipping learners with some essential skills to meet these targets.

An estimated 3.4 million properties in London alone require retrofitting, and with 78% of construction employers reporting retrofit skills shortages, this training is timely and essential.

The dry-lining apprenticeship training will cover:

• Partition Walls
• MF Ceilings
• Grid Ceilings
• Shaft Walls
• Metsec Installation
• Rainscreen Cladding
• Passive Fire Protection

Apprentices will gain additional qualifications in:

• NVQ L2 Interior Systems
• PASMA
• CSCS
• SSSTS (if eligible)

This apprenticeship is open to those seeking to build a successful career within the construction sector, providing the skills, knowledge, and behaviours necessary to establish a strong foundation in the industry.

To assist employers with recruitment, The Skills Centre offers 8-week interior systems boot camps for new entrants.

These boot camps provide a mix of classroom and practical training, including the CSCS Green Card, and allow employers to meet pre-screened candidates and conduct two-week trial placements before committing to an apprenticeship hire.

This provides companies access to a pipeline of engaged, local candidates with the relevant skills to excel in the apprenticeship programme from day one.

While the Interior Systems Apprenticeship is a new addition to The Skills Centre’s delivery, they have been providing apprenticeships in Groundwork, Formwork, Steel Fixing and Highways Maintenance for several years and recently received a Good overall grade from OFSTED with Outstanding marks for Adult Education Provisions.