A THIRD of smaller independent building firms are put off hiring apprentices due to the bureaucracy involved, new findings show.

According to the Federation of Master Builders many firms are being deterred by the e complex process of taking on young trainees .

Also, the experience of one long-established local building firm specialising in social housing projects is adding to the problem as political uncertainty about the sector has led to a dearth of new contracts - meaning it cannot afford to hire .

Paul Christopher, director of C W Christopher and Son, said he was struggling to find new work due to uncertainty about social housing following the Government's controversial decision to introduce right to buy for tenants.

The Tong-based firm, which dates back more than 100 years, once employed around 30 people but now has just four employees.

Paul said: " We have brought on lots of young lads over the years but there just isn't the work out there to enable us to afford apprentices at present. No-one is building social housing so we are buying land and properties for our own small development projects.

"There is a growing skills shortage in the industry and we desperately need to attract and train more young people - both boys and girls.As and when things pick up for us we would consider hiring and training more youngsters."

The FMB's report -Defusing the skills time bomb- cites the bureaucracy of the apprenticeship process; employment and training costs; uncertainty of future workloads; concerns about retaining trained apprentices and the quality of candidates as the top five barriers to hiring apprentices.

Brian Berry, FMB chief executive, said: "Our research shows that 94 per cent of small construction firms want to train apprentices but a third are being turned off by a number of serious 'fear factors'. These include the cost of employing and training an apprentice and major concerns regarding the complexity of the process.

“There is strong evidence to show that small construction firms need better information and that if they were more aware of the support that’s available, a great number would train apprentices.

"Just under 80 per cent of non-recruiters are not aware of one of the most important apprenticeship grants available to them and just over 75 per cent say knowledge of financial support would make them more likely to take on apprentices.

“Given that two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SMEs, it is critical that the Government does everything in its power to remove any barriers that might be stopping these companies from training."