Who’s responsible for training construction’s next generation?

Funding cuts to level 7 apprenticeships have brought fresh labour concerns for construction as demand for specialist skills intensifies.

Budding architects and planners are among those expected to feel the brunt of the cuts; the Chartered Town Planner Degree Apprenticeship is a vital source of new talent, with the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) recording over 800 apprentices currently on the programme⁽¹⁾. Key sector figures, including RTPI’s chief executive, have called the move counterproductive, no doubt referring to Labour’s pledge to recruit 300 new planners by 2026.

Yet the government’s decision to redirect funding to lower-level apprenticeships is not wholly misplaced. It’s an opportunity to drum up greater interest in the wider construction sector and encourage a stronger pathway between employers and the 16-21-year-old talent pool.

In fact, the shift sheds light on an increasingly important question: whose responsibility is it to train construction’s next generation?

The employment backdrop

Hesitancy over the benefits of redirecting apprenticeship funding is understandable. Construction’s labour supply is not what it was and there are concerns that changes could exacerbate existing skills gaps.

In 1Q2025, the total UK construction workforce was smaller than in the same period in 2008 by over 365,000 workers, despite small increases on the quarter and year. Elsewhere, UK unemployment across sectors is creeping up. In the first quarter of this year, the rate of unemployment was 4.5%, the highest in almost four years⁽²⁾.

Declining job vacancies also point to a slowdown in the job market. Figures from the ONS Vacancy Survey – a dataset that provides comprehensive estimates of the number of available positions in the economy – showed total estimated vacancies in the three months ending in April 2025 were down by 131,000 on the same period last year⁽³⁾. In construction, job vacancies in 1Q2025 reached their lowest level since mid-2021.

^{Source: ONS – Vacancy Survey}

Together, these data speak to ongoing economic uncertainty, and the impact of the increases to employers’ National Insurance Contributions and the National Living Wage. Businesses do not have the confidence to invest in recruitment and training and with one in four now planning redundancies⁽⁴⁾, cuts to postgraduate apprenticeships could stymie the supply of future expertise.

This latest change may see another nail in construction’s labour coffin given recent plans to limit the accessibility of skilled worker visas. Construction’s reliance on overseas workers is well known historically, and while numbers have already fallen considerably since Brexit and the pandemic, increasing the cost of hiring overseas labour could further drive demand for skills that are dwindling in the UK. Examples include bricklayers, roofers, carpenters and joiners – all highly skilled professions, featured on the government’s immigration salary list⁽⁵⁾.

However, this is only part of the picture.

Sharing the training mantle

Ending dependence on overseas labour in favour of upskilling domestic workers was never going to be easy. It’s an economic risk and could seriously delay progress across housebuilding and infrastructure programmes.

Yet there’s also no denying the emerging opportunities to reintroduce skill security, although this should be viewed as a longer-term solution. Since pledging to bring in ‘workforce and training plans’ for construction, the government has allocated £600 million to upskill and attract talent in the sector. This includes £100 million for 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges with additional funding for delivering more construction courses; £100 million to expand construction skills boot camps; and £20 million to increase construction expertise in colleges, and develop partnerships between companies and colleges⁽⁶⁾.

With this injection, the government hopes to train 60,000 more skilled construction workers. Looking at the workers lost and still needed to meet Labour’s building goals, this figure might seem a drop in the ocean. But it’s a start, and a signal for construction companies to meet the government halfway.

Therein lies the answer to the overarching question: the onus of training construction’s future generation is a 50:50 split, on the shoulders of employers and the government equally.

Currently, the government is introducing ways to increase appetite for and accessibility to construction at an educational level. Employers must now up their engagement with local colleges and young people, market the variety and value of sector careers, and proactively plan how to attract and train talent in a way that suits their resources and needs.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. The Growth and Skills Levy did not rise with the cost of employment and there is a clear imbalance between the ability of SMEs and large construction companies to hire fully-fledged apprentices. A 2025 report from the Construction Industry Training Board revealed only one in five (21%) construction firms employ one apprentice and cited the lack of pipeline confidence and capacity to manage the administrative load of apprenticeships as potential barriers for SMEs in particular⁽⁷⁾.

Difficulties attracting young talent to construction could also lie in changing career appetites.

^{Source: Department for Education – Apprenticeships}

Data from the Department for Education has shown that of the apprenticeship starts in England classified under STEM subjects, starts in Digital Technology have seen an upward trend since 2020/21 while starts in Construction, Planning and the Built Environment have plateaued since 2022/23⁽⁸⁾.

So, what’s the solution?

How can employers fulfil their training duty?

First and foremost is for construction firms to assess where current skills gaps are, and what resources are available to realistically attract, train or upskill talent. Outlining the best actions to meet individual business needs should follow this. While employee volunteering in community initiatives aimed at young people is positive and could spur interest among new talent, it’s not a good investment of resources if the business needs specialist experience immediately.

In this example, taking advantage of the government investment in further education and building relationships with colleges to source more experienced talent who can be upskilled on-the-job, could a better alternative.

Equally, apprenticeships are being pushed as the go-to for filling construction’s labour gaps, but employers must take the opportunity to explore the training alternatives they can invest in with funding from the Growth and Skills Levy. For construction employers contributing to the Levy and burdened by skills gaps, it would be counterproductive to not consider offering the shorter apprenticeships and courses the reformed Levy allows. As Skills England continues to develop the flexibility of the Levy, the construction sector should be measuring what’s possible against what’s needed.

For companies with longer-term recruitment visions, increasing actions to engage young people with the diverse opportunities of construction careers from an earlier age is key. The BBC’s 2025 Bitesize Careers Survey of more than 4,000 13-16-year-olds showed building trade professions among the top ten most popular career choices⁽⁹⁾. Teenagers also cited job satisfaction and happiness above money when asked what they would value in future jobs.

While this indicates some appetite for construction, the sector still faces an image problem. Perceptions of construction careers as demanding and less rewarding persist so it’s crucial employers ramp up efforts to turn this around. This includes increasing visibility of diverse employment options, championing and marketing innovation successes, and using careers fairs, work experience opportunities and social media to destigmatise construction jobs among young people.

While current insights point to a difficult job market and clear economic challenges, there are growing opportunities for businesses to take ownership of training the next generation.

The sector has a shared duty in its future and acting now will help to secure its labour supply further down the line.

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^{(1) RTPI – Key route into planning profession hit by Government restrictions – here}

^{(2) Office for National Statistics – Unemployment – here}

^{(3) Office for National Statistics – Vacancies and jobs in the UK: May 2025 – here}

^{(4) CIPD – Labour Market Outlook – here}

^{(5) GOV.UK – Home Office – Skilled Worker visa: immigration salary list – here}

^{(6) GOV.UK – News story – Government unleashes next generation of construction workers to build 1.5m homes – here}

^{(7) CITB – Construction Apprenticeships – Opportunities, Challenges, Support – here}

^{(8) GOV.UK – Explore education statistics – Create your own tables – here}

^{(9) BBC – Revealed: New entry in top 10 jobs teenagers want – here}