Entry-level recruitment in construction is in crisis. According to research carried out in 2024 by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, there was a 41% fall in apprenticeship starts for the under 19s and a 36% decline for those aged 19-24 years old between 2015/16 and 2022/23.
Rachel Reeves, in an attempt to rectify the situation, announced a raft of measures in last year鈥檚 budget. These include making training free for under-25s employed by small and medium-sized enterprises SMEs) and allocating 拢725m-worth of investment to reform the apprenticeship system to create 50,000 more apprenticeship opportunities for young people over the next three years.
There was also the introduction of an 拢820m Youth Guarantee, removal of the 10% apprenticeship levy uplift for larger employers while increasing their co-investment to 25%, and new national insurance breaks for hiring younger apprentices.
But is all this really going to make a difference?
Neil Sansbury, managing director for the UK & Ireland at consultant Ramboll, points to the 萝莉原创 Industry Training Board鈥檚 estimate that the industry needs around 250,000 additional workers by 2028. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 now less than two years away and while recent government measures and skills packages are welcome, they won鈥檛 bridge the gap on their own. The scale of forecast demand requires a more fundamental shift.鈥�
Jayne Suthard, training manager at regional contractor Stepnell, also has her doubts. 鈥淲hile the new 拢725m funding covers training costs, it doesn鈥檛 help with the rising cost of wages and supervision,鈥� she says. 鈥淔or many, that鈥檚 why these measures don鈥檛 feel like they 鈥榤ove the dial鈥�.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
鈥淭he funding helps with supply but not with the capacity of a business to actually take people on. We鈥檝e found that the best way forward is to stop reacting to the market and commit to taking on ten per cent of our workforce as trainees and apprentices each year.
Meanwhile Allan McGill, managing director at Aberdeen-based consulting engineer Wallace Whittle, makes no bones about the scale of the problem. 鈥淭he measures announced sound impressive on paper 鈥� free training for under-25s, big-ticket funding allocations and tax breaks 鈥� but the reality is that the construction sector鈥檚 apprenticeship challenge isn鈥檛 just about cost. It鈥檚 about perception, pipeline and progression.
鈥淚f young people don鈥檛 see construction as a route into a modern, tech-driven, sustainable career, uptake will remain flat. We need to move away from this narrative that construction is simply learning 鈥榓 trade鈥� and instead highlight that the next generation is shaping the future of the built environment 鈥� smart buildings, low-carbon design, digital engineering鈥�.
Nicky Jepson, a director with Workhouse, a marketing consultant specialising in construction and the built environment, believes (not surprisingly) that construction needs to be more canny about how it appeals to young job-seekers: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not enough to only lean into on-site prank videos and content that trivialises an important industry,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need to make sure that content reaches people in the right places. Employers 鈥� and, indeed, the government 鈥� need to be brave enough to utilise channels such as Instagram and TikTok to reach that audience.鈥�
The house-building sector might be good at marketing itself to potential home-buyers but according to Ryan Asher-Powell, contracts manager at East Midlands house builder Allison Homes, construction has work to do when it comes to advertising the job opportunities it can offer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 down to those of us already working in the field to lead the charge,鈥� says Asher-Powell. 鈥淣ew funding and national insurance breaks for hiring younger apprentices will do nothing if we don鈥檛 attract people onto those apprenticeships in the first place. It鈥檚 not just about getting into universities where students may have already chosen their path but getting into schools and colleges earlier. It鈥檚 about showing how working in construction supports the life you want to live too 鈥� after all you can work for a company or start and run your own business, and you鈥檙e still operating in the same sector.鈥�
Age can be a barrier to attracting new apprentices says Steven Hurst, director of corporate learning at Arden University, an online teaching specialist based in Coventry. 鈥淭he perception that apprenticeships are only for younger individuals is a major hurdle, with 62% of construction workers who wouldn鈥檛 consider an apprenticeship feeling they are 鈥榯oo old鈥� to participate. And for those that would be interested, only 19% believe their employer would support them in pursing an apprenticeship.鈥�
Almost 30 years ago, the New Labour government of Tony Blair placed an emphasis on higher education with a policy that aimed to get 50% of school leavers into university. That target was finally met in 2019 only for Tory education secretary Gavin Williamson to scrap the policy a year later.
By then, the damage had been done: thousands of graduates, burdened with heavy student loans to repay, flooded the labour market only to find that their degrees in media studies, golf management or tourism weren鈥檛 in high demand among employers. And, sadly, their academic training had led these graduates to expect well-paid white-collar jobs, not a construction apprenticeship.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
鈥淥ur education system has created a cultural bias towards academic routes, leaving vocational careers significantly undervalued,鈥� says Adrian Attwood director of specialist conservation contractor DBR. 鈥淣early a million young people are not in work or learning. We need parents, educators and the industry to step up now with quality training and recognise the value of these careers.鈥�
Last year, DBR opened a dedicated heritage skills education centre on the Wiston Estate in the South Downs national park. The centre offers school taster days and apprenticeship training, plus craft demonstrations and CPD seminars to encourage the development of the traditional building trades that are essential for the restoration and preservation of the heritage built environment.
Parents, of course, have a key role to play in deciding a young person鈥檚 career choice and potential employers would do well to enlist their help in steering their kids towards construction.
Speaking on the eve of Apprenticeship Week last month, Chris Ellis, commercial director with M&E contractor Group Metropolitan, outlined his company鈥檚 approach: 鈥淔ollowing a successful three-month trial period, we host an open morning where we invite [students] and their parents or guardians to a round table with the senior team. Being able to demonstrate longevity and career progression allows them and their families to see the opportunities ahead and buy-in to our company ethos and values.
鈥淚t also makes the experience more personable and allows parents and guardians to build a relationship with our team.鈥� Proof of progression comes from the fact that 40% of Group Metropolitan鈥檚 senior team came up through the company鈥檚 apprenticeship scheme.
The UK construction industry鈥檚 growing appreciation of equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) acknowledges the need to appeal to a broader range of recruits 鈥� beyond the typically working-class white male demographic traditionally associated with the industry.
Regeneration Brainery, a Manchester-based 鈥榓spirational academy鈥� set up up in 2017, carries out construction training 鈥榖ootcamps鈥� for more than 4,000 young people every year across the UK. 鈥淚n 2025, 51% of 鈥楤rainees鈥� were female and 90% met at least one characteristic of being from an under-represented group,鈥� says chief executive Michele Steel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to us that we are opening doors for those who truly need a leg-up into the built environment.鈥�
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
The application process is kept deliberately simple: young people, aged between 14 and 21, apply through the Regeneration Brainery website for its free five-day workshops. 鈥淲e also work closely with schools and colleges to make sure the opportunity reaches those who wouldn鈥檛 normally find their way into the industry,鈥� says Steel. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 about making brews or doing paperwork - we want our Brainees to get exposure to live projects and the real challenges facing our industry.鈥�
The week-long Brainery sessions consist of career talks, on-site access to live sites, workshops and networking events and currently operate in eight cities across the UK, with more planned for this year.
Demonstrating a clear career path is essential to attracting potential apprentices. Workhouse鈥檚 Nicky Jepson says: 鈥淵oung people need to see a diverse spectrum of real-life tradespeople at work in the media content they consume, whether that鈥檚 a peer who鈥檚 just started an apprenticeship or an established tradesperson.鈥�
For decades 鈥� possibly centuries 鈥� an apprenticeship was the normal route into a career in construction. Only architects and engineers bypassed this route (and even then, not always). And it is still the gateway to a rewarding career that can take a new recruit all the way to the top, says Nicola Allen, head of construction, surveying and engineering at the University of the Built Environment, based in Reading.
鈥淭hose progressing from trades bring with them a deep understanding of how buildings are actually constructed, repaired and maintained 鈥� knowledge that cannot be replicated through theory alone,鈥� she says.
鈥淲hen applied to professional roles like building surveying, construction management and building control, these skills elevate decision making, strengthen relationships with contractors and ensure that professional advice is grounded in real-world understanding, ultimately raising the quality of the built environment and retaining a skilled workforce.鈥�
Paul Dodsworth would certainly agree with that. He started his career over 40 years ago as a bricklayer apprentice and is now group managing director of Wakefield-based Caddick 萝莉原创 but he remains to be convinced that current government policy will pay off.
鈥淐hanges to the apprentice levy will make a difference, whether that will be positive or negative is yet to be seen,鈥� he says.聽
鈥淚t may look like a rebalancing exercise on paper, but in practice the changes could discourage sustained, long-term skills investment.聽 The new Growth and Skills Levy is intended to make training more flexible and more closely aligned to employer needs. That sounds beneficial, but there鈥檚 a risk that flexibility will become dilution.
鈥淎pprenticeships are not a short-term workforce solution; they are a long-term investment in people, businesses and industry capability. Treating them as a way to plug immediate skills gaps or reduce labour costs undermines their value altogether.鈥�
Secrets to successful recruitment
Jayne Suthard, training manager at contractor Stepnell offers seven reasons why it makes sense to recruit 10% of the workforce as trainees and apprentices:
- Predictability: 鈥淲e plan for training costs as a standard expense so we aren鈥檛 caught off guard by policy changes.鈥�
- Tax breaks: 鈥淲e use the national insurance savings for under-25s to offset the recent wage increases.鈥�
- Self-reliance: 鈥淲e鈥檙e growing our own workforce instead of fighting for expensive, hard-to-find contractors.鈥�
- Standardising quality: 鈥淲e hire 10% of our workforce yearly to train people correctly from the start, rather than fixing experienced subcontractors鈥� ingrained bad habits.鈥�
- Future-proofing the tech gap: 鈥淥ur apprentices often pick up these new technologies faster than the old guard, acting as 鈥榬everse mentors鈥� who help keep the whole company tech-savvy and competitive.鈥�
- Bridging the ageing workforce: 鈥淥ur 10% rule ensures a constant knowledge transfer happens before those skills leave the industry for good.
- Succession and loyalty: 鈥淲hen a labourer sees a former apprentice now running a site it boosts morale and retention across the board. People stay where they see a path for growth, which drastically reduces our recruitment churn.鈥�
聽Addressing the perception problem
Nicky Jepson, marketing director at Workhouse Creative Agency, offers a checklist for construction brands to engage younger audiences:
- Does your content feel authentic?
- Does it feature real trades?
- Would it make a young person think about taking up a trade?
- Are you making sure the content hits audiences in the right place at the right time?
Brainee chooses her career path
Regeneration Brainery CEO Michele Steel (above) says: 鈥淥ne of our Liverpool Brainees, Hannah, joined Regeneration Brainery whilst at college. She thought she might want a career in residential design and regeneration, but she wasn鈥檛 sure if it was the right path. She didn鈥檛 know what other roles were out there.
This article was first published in the March 2026 issue of 萝莉原创 Magazine. Sign up online.
鈥淭hat one week completely changed her focus. Hannah discovered just how broad the property industry really is and, having met project and construction managers at Regeneration Brainery events, decided to apply for roles in construction management. Through Regeneration Brainery, she gained work experience with our partners and mentors Genr8 Developments and Seddon.
鈥淗er determination paid off and she鈥檚 now an apprentice site manager at Seddon 鈥� the only female in her intake.鈥�
Got a story? Email news@theconstructionindex.co.uk
