Contractor Seddon has revealed that 2,694 people applied for just 20 apprenticeship roles in its latest hiring round, highlighting the lack of placements for people keen to start careers in construction.
The figures from Seddon mirror national concerns cited in the CITB Construction Apprenticeships report.
According to the report, the UK needs 50,000 additional construction workers per year to meet workforce demand, yet only 33,000 apprentices started in the year 2023/24.
“We are not short of young people ready to work, we are short of employers ready to take them on,” said Nicola Hodkinson, owner and director at Seddon.
“This is not the first time that we have been oversubscribed in apprenticeship applicants, and this year’s soaring application figures show how much appetite there is from the next generation.
“But, unless we have a collective shift as an industry in how we approach apprenticeships, we risk losing this talent to other sectors or worse, they become another statistic amongst the ‘not in employment, education or training’ (NEET).”
Of Seddon’s total applicants, 8% identified as female, and 29% of applicants identified as being from black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds.
The applicant pool also reflected a wide range of educational backgrounds and life stages – school leavers made up 18.4% of applicants, while 34.5% came from further education, 20% from higher education, and 25% were aged over 21.
“It’s heartbreaking to think we could lose these enthusiastic, capable individuals,” Hodkinson added. “With 31% of applicants already holding a construction qualification, there’s a real risk they may move to other sectors.
“We are having conversations with our supply chain, public sector clients with direct labour, and our contacts in skills, education, and employment to try and connect these apprentice candidates with employers.”
