Callisto's Story

In Solihull West and Shirley, 28-year-old Callisto wanted to train as a construction worker to help build the homes her community desperately needs. But she discovered that HM Treasury's approach to infrastructure spending blocked her path. Construction training providers across the West Midlands had unfilled places while local housing targets remained unmet. CITB levy funding wasn't directed to areas with the greatest housing need because central government treats building homes as a deficit risk rather than as the mechanism that puts skilled workers like Callisto into jobs. The workers were available, the training capacity existed, but Westminster's choices created artificial scarcity. Callisto's story reveals how political decisions about spending create real human consequences. This episode contains strong language and discussion of financial stress.