How apprenticeships can help close the construction skills gap

Could a new approach to skills development help tackle the construction talent shortage? 

The ‘skills gap’ has been something of a buzzword in construction for years, cropping up time and time again in newspaper headlines, economic updates and appeals for support from industry leaders. 

But what’s the real story – and is it already too late to rewrite its ending? 

A numbers game? 

When you boil it down, the skills gap seems like a simple macroeconomic case of supply versus demand. 

The number of people working in roles directly linked to house building isn’t large enough to deliver the number of homes the government and would-be residents desire.  

But if only the problem was quite that simple; if so, it might be easier to address quickly and cost-effectively.  

The true challenge is not the skills gap itself.  

It’s actually the many complex factors that have both contributed to it already and may arise when exploring possible solutions. 

Why an ageing workforce is putting pressure on construction skills 

Physically involved careers like bricklaying can be rewarding, enjoyable and highly successful – but by their nature, they can also be time-limited.  

At a point when the average wait for social housing in England is around 2.9 years, much of Britain’s house-building workforce is approaching retirement. 

Indeed, 22% of UK bricklayers aged between 50 and 59, with a further 12% having already turned 60.  

That means around a third of those doing a vital job on sites up and down the country could retire within the next decade – while rising demand for construction shows no sign of slowing.

The timing couldn’t be less ideal. 

We just need more workers. Right? 

Of course, recruiting thousands upon thousands of bricklayers, site managers, tradespeople and others in the many fields related to house building is no mean feat. 

But even if it was possible to hire en masse rapidly, you’ve then got to consider the readiness of those newer to their profession. 

As the last generation gradually leaves our sites, so too does its lengthy experience; all those invaluable insights gained from day after day on the job, the innate knowhow that comes from years of practice and refinement.  

And getting young people to consider a career in house building in the first place can be tricky. 

2025 research by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) found that 36% of 16 to 24-year-olds thought construction is not a respected career path, 35% believed the industry has a poor workplace culture and 28% felt it wasn’t an accessible option for people of their age. 

Clearly, there’s something of a perception problem that’s making it all the harder to fill much-needed boots and hard hats. 

The struggle to stay ahead 

The result of the skills gap is being felt across the industry in multiple ways.  

It’s far more than just unfilled vacancies or an inability to find qualified workers with previous experience.  

A further CIOB survey found that carpenters and roofers were the skilled tradespeople in highest demand, while 59% of employers noted that they found it difficult to recruit people with sustainable building and new technology skills.   

These acute shortages not only make it harder for builders to create a high quantity of new homes, but also threaten to hurt all-important housing quality, too. 

Turning to training 

While there’s no single silver bullet to resolve the skills gap overnight, apprenticeships are quickly becoming an attractive option for builders and employers across the wider construction industry.  

They’re nothing new, of course – but such desperate need for new blood means the chance to bring in a younger cohort of eager learners is particularly enticing in the current climate. 

It’s partly why the government recently announced the creation of 50,000 new apprenticeship opportunities across the whole UK economy – a move we and other big names in house building have welcomed. 

In our industry, apprenticeships can fill vacancies left by our ageing workforce and allow employers to train the next generation in the areas they need most. 

Yet not enough organisations are taking advantage of these benefits; research revealed a 1.4% decline in the number of construction apprentices in 2023-24 from the year previous.  

Reinventing early careers 

Fortunately, NHBC has picked up the baton by developing a better kind of construction apprenticeship offering. 

To both encourage more companies to take on trainees and improve the levels of training available, we’ve launched new programmes designed to create capable, confident workers who are ready to deliver quality from day one. 

Most significant is our £100m investment in new multi-skill training hubs. 

These centres provide site-like environments where builders’ apprentices learn on the job from experienced experts in bricklaying, groundworks and carpentry.  

And by aligning training to industry standards and working with house builders in the design of the spaces and courses, we’ve removed some of the key barriers that deter companies from giving apprenticeships a go. 

Our apprenticeship schemes make it that much easier, quicker and cost-effective to enrol the talent you need, and we’re also seeing apprentices complete their tailored training in as little as 14 months – almost twice as fast as those in traditional education routes. 

We’ve also enjoyed a retention rate of around 80% at our existing training hubs for bricklaying, indicating that our immersive, real-world approach to the learning experience is effective in keeping career starters in the industry. 

Making construction skills development simpler for employers

Let’s be honest: apprenticeships won’t fill the skills gap entirely on their own. 

But they’re definitely one of the most practical, sustainable ways to increase your capacity and help you grow your workforce. 

And by changing how they’re delivered, improving the experience for the next generation and making them a far more attractive to employers, we’re proud to be playing a key role in training essential talent for UK house building. 

So if you’re finding it harder to fill vital gaps in your organisation, perhaps an NHBC apprenticeship could be part of the answer.