<p>The <span>industry </span>will miss its housebuilding targets if it does not have a “pipeline of talent” to build the country’s homes, Gillian Keegan MP, parliamentary under secretary of state for apprenticeships and skills, said today (May 27).</p> <p>Speaking at the HBF Online Policy Conference, Keegan highlighted the challenge of the green agenda which would require “new skills”. She added that she was “acutely aware that if we are to continue with our targets, upskilling is necessary and urgent.”</p> <p>With skills being a “key pillar” of the economic recovery, she pointed to the initiatives the government was undertaking to raise people’s skills and encourage them into industries, including its recent £2.5 billon investment in the National Skills Fund, skills “bootcamps”, T-levels and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee. </p> <p>In a “major change”, Keegan said the government was placing companies “at the heart” of the skills system. “This will require a culture shift, but we intend to give a bigger voice to employers”. </p> <p>But, she appealed to the industry, “we need employers to show leadership” and work with the government on its programmes. She called upon the sector to engage in traineeships and T-levels.</p> <p>“If we’re going to continue to progress to …