Lack of Apprenticeship Opportunities

Nicola Hodkinson, owner and director of Seddon, highlights how the construction industry is failing to meet the growing appetite for apprenticeships amongst young people.

“As students across the country receive their A-level results today, many find themselves facing uncertainty about their future career paths, rather than celebrating. For those ambitious students looking to pursue a practical career in construction, many are finding themselves reaching a dead end, not due to lack of ability and academic success, but because of a lack of opportunity.”

First-hand figures on demand vs supply

“Seddon has long-championed apprenticeships as a direct pathway into the construction industry. Each year, we see a growing interest in our apprenticeship offering at Seddon, with our last hiring intake receiving 2,694 applications for just 20 positions.

“This oversubscription is indicative of the growing interest among young people seeking alternate pathways to the university route. Unfortunately, the construction industry just isn’t meeting the demand, with the availability of apprenticeships falling significantly behind the number of interested applicants. The problem is a lack of employers, not a lack of ambition or interest in pursuing a career in construction.”

 Addressing the new stats from CITB

“The industry faces a growing skills shortage, which continues to stifle growth. At Seddon, we believe that apprenticeships are a vital way to plug that gap, but the sector is lagging. As an industry, we simply can’t wait for job-ready workers, we need to create them through proper investment in apprenticeships and young people.

“This week, The Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) estimated that 61,000 new workers each year would be needed to meet the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes by 2030. For the government to meet its own target, we need them to fully understand the needs of the industry and invest in apprenticeships as a direct strategy to close the widening skills gap and bring young people into the workforce.

Future-proofing the construction industry:

“Our industry is sleepwalking into crisis. We are failing to recruit and train apprentices, instead leaning far too heavily on an ageing, self-employed workforce. It’s short-sighted. It’s unsustainable. Without urgent, radical change in how we hire and grow our people, we face stagnation and decline.

“The truth is simple: we cannot build without builders – and AI will not lay bricks, wire homes, or pour concrete. This is everyone’s responsibility: main contractors, subcontractors, and the self-employed alike. Yet, right now, the burden rests on the shoulders of a few – and that is nowhere near enough to safeguard the future of our industry.