Planning has been approved for a new multi-skill apprenticeship training hub in the town of Northstowe in Cambridgeshire, which it is hoped will supercharge house-building training and help tackle the construction skills shortage head-on.
The NHBC Training Hub, Northstowe, is part of a planned UK-wide network of 12 facilities backed by a £100m investment from the National House Building Council (NHBC), the UK’s leading provider of new home warranties and insurance. Together, the hubs will train 3,000 new apprentices every year in the most needed trades, with the multi-skill hub at Northstowe set to train 200 per year.
The new facility will be delivered in partnership and built by top 10 housebuilder Keepmoat, with land and support provided by Homes England, the Government’s housing and regeneration agency.
Located on Rampton Road, the hub forms a vital part of NHBC’s commitment to developing a high-quality, skilled construction workforce to support UK housebuilders in meeting the Government’s target of delivering 1.5m new homes this Parliament. The initiative comes at a critical time, with industry forecasts indicating the UK construction industry needs to recruit an extra 251,500 workers by 2028 to meet demand.
Expected to open in early 2026, the NHBC Training Hub, Northstowe, will be two-thirds the size of a football pitch. It will deliver skilled, site-ready tradespeople at pace and scale, providing a significant workforce boost to support housebuilding across the region.
Initially, the NHBC multi-skill training hub will focus on delivering apprenticeships in essential trades including bricklaying, groundworks and site carpentry. These will make up around 80% of its use. The remaining capacity will support a range of related activities, including upskilling the existing house-building workforce, traineeships, skills bootcamps, specialist trade masterclasses and sessions for career changers, specialist groups and school students. These activities will showcase the wide-ranging opportunities within the housebuilding sector. The facility is designed to be flexible and responsive to local needs and evolving regulatory requirements, ensuring a consistent flow of qualified tradespeople needed to build high quality homes in the area.
NHBC’s innovative training model means 200 new apprentices each year from diverse backgrounds will benefit from immersive, hands-on learning in real site conditions from day one at the NHBC Training Hub, Northstowe.
Results from NHBC’s existing training hubs show apprentices are completing this industry-leading and tailored training in as little as 14 months, with many achieving distinctions. That’s nearly twice as fast as traditional education routes, which can take up to 30 months.
Commenting on NHBC’s Training Hubs, Jacqui Smith, Minister for Skills, said: “This government is committed to creating opportunities for people across the country to access well-paid jobs in vital sectors like construction and NHBC’s excellent new training hubs are helping to deliver exactly that.
“Their innovative model will prepare apprentices at the pace and scale we need to tackle the construction skills shortage and deliver our ambitious target of 1.5m new homes this Parliament.
“These hubs will equip local people with high-quality skills and rewarding careers, whilst building the communities of the future and supporting our economic growth mission.”
Commenting on the approval of the new NHBCTraining Hub, Northstowe, Roger Morton, Director of Business Change at NHBC, said: “We’re not just training apprentices, we’re raising the standard for the whole house-building industry. Our new NHBC multi-skill hub at Northstowe, along with our 11 others planned across the UK, will deliver quality training at scale in a way the industry has never seen before. Apprentices learn in real-site conditions from day one, gaining hands-on experience in the same conditions they’ll face in the job. It means faster progress, stronger results and most importantly, skilled, site-ready tradespeople.
“The industry is under real pressure to build more homes, build them well and find the skilled people to do it. That’s why the Chancellor’s recent Budget announcement is so significant. Although we await the full details, making apprenticeship training free for under-25s taken on by small and medium-sized builders removes one of the biggest barriers to hiring new talent. Cost, time and uncertainty have held many builders back and now those barriers could be about to come down.
“Combined with NHBC’s £100m investment in 12 multi-skill hubs across the UK, training 3,000 new apprentices every year, this is a huge opportunity for smaller builders who are the backbone of our industry. With free training and access to NHBC’s real-site hubs, where apprentices reach top industry standards in as little as 14 to 18 months, builders can take on new recruits with confidence. Together, we can tackle the skills shortage and deliver the homes the UK urgently needs.”
Alison Crofton, Chief Property Officer at Homes England, added: “As the government’s housing and regeneration Agency, supporting NHBC’s multi-skill training hubs takes us a step closer to delivering on the government’s mission to build 1.5m homes this parliament. The hubs are a brilliant opportunity to bridge the gap between construction skills development and housing delivery, bringing much-needed new talent into the industry at a pivotal time for housebuilding.
“As we continue to deliver phases two and three of Northstowe, the NHBC Training Hub will fast-track hundreds of apprentices into high-quality, site-ready roles, enabling meaningful training for local people and supporting a skilled workforce that can continue to build the future of Cambridgeshire.
“We’re proud to provide the land and support NHBC and Keepmoat on the programme, which will not only accelerate progress at Northstowe, but also set a benchmark for large-scale, sustainable communities across the country.”
Tim Wray, Group Land and Partnerships Director at Keepmoat, added: “We’re thrilled to be working closely in partnership with the NHBC and Homes England to deliver this multi-skills accelerated apprenticeship hub at Northstowe.
“At Keepmoat, we’re committed to building communities and transforming lives. Working with NHBC on initiatives such as this is critical to ensure the future workforce is equipped with the required skills, knowledge and experience to deliver high quality, affordable homes and sustainable communities.
“The initiative will also work to attract and nurture new talent into the sector, addressing the skills shortage and increasing awareness of the rewarding career opportunities available in construction.”
NHBC is currently evaluating additional locations across the UK for its new multi-skill training hubs. These hubs form a key part of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) Sector Skills Plan.
For more information, visit Apprenticeships | NHBC.