Essex colleges and construction businesses will spearhead a new apprenticeship system for trainee bricklayers and plasterers. 
The move is in direct response to the skills gap “time bomb” facing the construction industry. 
The Trailblazer system establishes new standards for the two crafts. It is being developed by the Federation of Master Builders, following the go-ahead from the Government. 
Prospects College in Basildon and Colchester Institute are among the training centres chosen to work with local businesses to teach the new standards to apprentices. 
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, said: “We’re determined  the new construction apprenticeship standards reflect the needs of both large and small employers, which is why we’re leading the way in developing two new standards for bricklaying and plastering. 
“These standards will be driven by a group of small and medium- sized employers. The main difference is  they will require the apprentice to learn general skills, such as business practice, as well as their specialist trade.  We’ve likened our Trailblazer approach to an American university degree where you have a core, general, subject coupled with a specific discipline. 
“Apprentices will qualify as Master Builders, with a major in either bricklaying or plastering.
“That way, by the time they complete their apprenticeship, they’ll have a much more well-rounded skill-set, as well as their chosen specialist trade.  It means they can deploy a whole range of skills, according to demand, when working for an employer of any size.” 
The new standards are part of a widespread programme to tailor traditional apprenticeships more closely to the marketplace, and make construction industry workers more flexible and more widely employable.