CONSTRUCTION companies are failing to address skills shortages by not creating enough openings for apprentices, a leading figure has warned.

Sir Michael Latham, chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) criticised the lack of opportunities for trainees to get on-site experience that would fill gaps in the sector.

The shortage of apprenticeships has undermined a recruitment push by the CITB, he told employers.

Sir Michael praised businesses in the North-East, saying they were generally better than elsewhere at creating openings.

But he warned that the region faced major skills shortages because many builders were heading to the South where they could earn more money as contractors.

In a speech to the region's construction companies, he said that the North-East sector was positioned for at least two per cent growth a year until 2006, presenting employers with the challenge of finding workers.

He told The Northern Echo: "This region does have a very strong tradition of training, which is not the case all over the country.

"It is because more firms employ labour directly rather than using self-employed workers. There has been a lot of building work going on up here and there is a big demand for extra labour.

"But the North-East does lose construction workers to projects down South or abroad because they can often earn more money.

"We need all the time to encourage more young people to come into the industry, and we have widely succeeded with that.

"But there are only so many apprenticeships available, and although people may enrol on a construction course, they cannot get their qualification without hands-on experience - it is a vicious circle."

Despite the amount of construction work being undertaken in the region, including the Tees Valley regeneration at Middlehaven, and the Newcastle-Gateshead 2010 initiative - projects that will require a large number of construction workers, Sir Michael said he did not believe they would be jeopardised by skills shortages.

"The construction industry is very resourceful," he said.

"In the South, construction workers have been brought in from Romania, Albania, and Kosovo to help with building projects. While that may not have to happen up here, there are always other ways of finding workers."

Sir Michael called on construction companies to train young people while they had the capital to invest in training, during what is a period of buoyancy in the sector.

He said that investing in people and processes while the industry was doing well made sense, as it was those companies that would be best placed to survive in less buoyant times.

Yesterday, a survey showed the building industry had just recorded its 67th month of growth in succession.

Companies saw increased growth following new contracts and buoyant underlying market conditions, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's Construction Purchasing Managers Index.

Staffing levels rose at a strong rate during the month as firms hired to meet rising workloads.