Miruna Leitoiu, policy and public affairs officer at the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), discusses why it seems so difficult to get trainees into a full-time career in the built environment
The Chartered Institute of Building’s newly published Attitudes to Construction Careers report, released to mark National Careers Week, exposes a stark paradox. Young people are broadly positive about construction. Parents are supportive. Yet the sector still struggles to attract the numbers it needs to build the homes, schools, and infrastructure the country demands.
Two-thirds of 16–24-year-olds say they view construction careers positively, and three-quarters of parents would support their child entering the sector. But positivity is not participation. Only around three in ten young people say they would seriously consider working in construction.
At the same time, the Construction Industry Training Board estimates that 240,000 additional workers will be needed by 2029 to meet projected growth. Meanwhile, 957,000 young people remain not in education, employment, or training. We have a sector crying out for talent and a generation in search of opportunity. The disconnect is structural.
We must go beyond skills reforms
The uncomfortable truth is that construction’s recruitment challenges are not new. Over successive governments, we have seen wave after wave of post-16 skills reform: the Apprenticeship Levy, new apprenticeship standards, T Levels, Skills Bootcamps. Each reform promised to rebalance the system in favour of technical education. Yet construction was rarely the explicit priority. It was assumed the sector would benefit indirectly from broader change. That assumption has not held.
For years, construction-specific pathways were unstable or marginal within the wider reform landscape. Early construction T Levels were withdrawn before replacements were embedded. Skills Bootcamps initially offered limited construction provision. Qualification reviews created uncertainty for colleges and students alike. When vocational routes appear to be in flux, young people and parents understandably hesitate. Stability matters. So does clarity.
There are signs of change. Since 2024, the Government under Keir Starmer has framed construction skills as a strategic priority, directly tied to housing and infrastructure ambitions. Commitments to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2029 have been paired with expanded construction T Levels, Homebuilding Skills Hubs, Technical Excellence Colleges, and apprenticeship funding reforms. For the first time in years, construction sits at the centre of the policy narrative.
But policy announcements alone will not close the gap. Our survey data shows awareness of these programmes remains patchy. More than a third of young people have not heard of any of the new construction initiatives we tested. Even where awareness exists, conversion into action is limited. Among those familiar with construction T Levels, only a small minority had enrolled. A similar pattern applies to Bootcamps and the Homebuilding Skills Hub: once young people know about them, many consider them. The challenge is that too few are aware of them in the first place.
Co-operating to close the gap
This is why CIOB is calling for a co-ordinated national recruitment campaign for construction, comparable in scale to those supporting the armed forces or teaching. Not another fragmented initiative, but a sustained, unified effort that brings together government and industry to present a confident message about what construction offers.
That message must also confront persistent gender divides. Out of the young men surveyed, 44% say they would be likely to pursue a career in construction. For young women, the figure falls to 25%. Over a third of young women describe construction as a “career for men”. Parents of daughters are more likely to discuss university routes and less likely to discuss apprenticeships. Awareness of construction programmes is also lower among young women. These patterns are not accidental. They reflect deeply embedded assumptions about who construction is “for”.
If the sector is serious about widening participation, it must move beyond encouragement towards structural change. That means visible female leadership, credible commitments to inclusive site cultures, flexible working where possible, and procurement frameworks that embed diversity expectations. International evidence shows that participation rises where equity is treated as a core requirement rather than an afterthought.
Ultimately, this is not only a workforce issue. It is an economic and social one. The Government’s housing and infrastructure targets will not be met without people. And people will not commit to a sector they perceive as inaccessible or unwelcoming.
The findings of this year’s Attitudes Survey should not be read as a verdict of failure. On the contrary, they show a foundation of goodwill. Young people are open. Parents are supportive. Consideration rates are strong once awareness is achieved. The ingredients for change are present.
Goodwill does not build homes. Recruitment pipelines do.
If the past decade demonstrated the limits of sector-neutral reform, the coming years must test a more direct approach: stable policy, visible pathways, inclusive culture, and a national campaign that speaks not only to labour market need, but to pride, purpose, and possibility.
Construction quite literally shapes the country we live in. The question is whether we are prepared to shape the pathways that allow the next generation to build it.
The post From curiosity to construction career: Why young people aren’t crossing the line appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
