Adults in northern England are broadly positive about construction careers, but underestimate builders’ earning potential, according to new research commissioned by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).
The research found that 63% of adults in the north west, north east and Yorkshire and the Humber would be more likely to encourage a young person to enter the building trade if they were guaranteed a job at the end of their training.
Awareness of construction apprenticeships was also high, reaching 90% in Yorkshire and the Humber, 88% in the north west and 86% in the north east.
The north west has also recorded the highest number of bricklaying apprenticeship starts in England over the past three years, according to Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) figures. In 2024/25, the region recorded 300 starts and 239 apprenticeship achievements, up from 237 in the previous year.
Nationally, 1,920 people started a bricklaying apprenticeship in 2024/25, making it the third most popular construction apprenticeship by starts, with numbers up by 1% year on year.
However, the FMB research found that between six and seven in 10 adults across the three northern regions believe builders earn less than £40,000 a year.
Communicating career opportunities
Carolyn Frank, FMB North director, said the findings showed that while awareness of construction training was high, more needed to be done to communicate the financial rewards and career opportunities available.
“If we want parents and young people to choose this career and stick to it once qualified, they need to see what is on offer and understand that the hard work needed to succeed reaps real rewards not just financially, but with job security and satisfaction too,” she said.
Lancashire-based builder Kev Wilson, director of Kev Wilson Ltd, has taken on three apprentices this year. He said apprenticeships could provide a route from leaving school to managing jobs independently, but argued that training should also cover the business skills needed to progress.
“I’ve seen apprentices go from leaving school with no plan to running their own jobs in a few years,” he said.
Wilson added that moving from working as a sole trader to employing staff brought new responsibilities that could be difficult to navigate without support.
“If we want young people to make a real success of this trade, we need to teach them the business side as well as the tools,” he said.
