Building the future workforce

Construction's skills crisis is no longer a future problem; it is happening now. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has projected that the sector needs an additional 47,860 workers every single year between 2025 and 2029 to meet demand. That is nearly a quarter of a million people over five years. To put that into context, the UK will need to find, train and retain that workforce at the same time as delivering on ambitious housing targets, major infrastructure programmes and a built environment that is fit for a net zero future.

The pressure is real. The timeline is short. And the pipeline of talent coming through is nowhere near where it needs to be. Yet while the industry is rightly focused on the scale of that challenge, there is a piece of the puzzle that does not always get the attention it deserves. Before construction can build its future workforce, young people need to see a future for themselves in it.

The opportunity gap that sits before the skills gap

Here is a number that should give us all pause. Every year in the UK, around 400,000 young people leave school without any work experience whatsoever. Not a placement, not a site visit, not a single day inside a workplace. They step into adult life with no real understanding of what different careers look, feel or sound like – that is not a talent problem, that is an access problem.

Research consistently shows that young people who do not access work experience are significantly more likely to become NEET (not in education, employment or training) after leaving school – they earn less over their lifetimes, are more likely to end up in roles that do not reflect their potential, and are far less likely to enter industries like construction, where a visible, relatable pathway into the sector makes an enormous difference.

At Futures For All, the UK's leading social mobility charity and largest provider of work experience, we see this every day. Talent is everywhere across the UK, opportunity is not. Until the construction industry takes a more active role in creating these opportunities, the scale of the challenge will only continue to grow. 

Futures for All CEO, Nick Brook, states:

Whilst there is near universal agreement about the need to open up workplace opportunities to all...progress towards this remains painfully slow. Too many young people are shut out of opportunities before their careers even begin.

What good looks like: lessons from UK Construction Week

Recently, I had the privilege of bringing together some of the most forward-thinking voices in construction for a panel discussion at UK Construction Week London, one of the sector's flagship events. The session, 'Builidng the Future Workforce: Closing the Construction Skills Gap', brought together partners including Mace Group, Diversity and Inclusion in Construction, Jackson Civil Engineers and Retinue Solutions to explore the question: "What does it take to attract, inspire & develop the next generation of talent?" 

Prince Sithole, our panellist from Jackson Civil Engineers, summed the challenge up perfectly:

The greatest asset in construction is not concrete, steel, or technology; it is people. The skills gap we face today is not a lack of talent, but a lack of opportunity, visibility, and belief in potential. The future of our industry will be determined not by the projects we complete, but by the next generation we inspire, support, and develop. The investment we make in people today is the legacy our industry will inherit tomorrow.

Our roundtable that afternoon explored these initiatives further. Attended by a range of businesses from across the industry, the conversation quickly moved away from the size of the problem towards tangible, actionable solutions for organisations or any size. The message from the room was consistent: the barriers to engaging young people are smaller than most businesses assume, and the returns in terms of nurturing talent, improving workplace culture and strengthening the company reputation, are far greater.

Why work experience is not a "nice-to-have"

There is somtimes a tendency to think of work experience as something that does not really benefit young people, and costs employers time and resources. Two weeks given over to showing someone around – admin, supervision, costs to be weighed against other priorities – times have changed. And so has work experience! 

Young people who access work experience are more likely to go into employment, more likely to stay in roles, and earn more over the course of their careers. For industries with a diversity challenge, like construction, the results are even more compelling – when young people from underrepresented backgrounds see themselves reflected in a workplace, they are immediately more drawn to those roles, and leave with a lasting, positive impression.

For employers, the practical benefits are just as significant. Organisations that build consistent work experience programmes do not just improve their social impact, they build a warm pipeline of early-career candidates who already understand the culture, already have some sector knowledge and are already invested in the organisation, all before they have sent a single application.They also have a direct impact on shaping career entry, as some statistics from our February 2026 work experience placement with Jackson Civil Engineers highlights:

• 48 young people at a secondary school in Bedfordshire attended.
• 72% of participants had never attended a work experience placement before.
• 18% pre-experience felt well-informed on a career in the industry.
• 69% post-experience felt well-informed on a career in the industry.
• 85% left feeling more knowledgeable about their personal skills and where they wanted to improve.
• They fed back that they enjoyed learning about different careers, the processes involved in building, creating presentations, and working as a team.

The role of diversity in solving the skills gap

It is worth being direct for a moment. The construction industry will not close its growing skills gap by continually relying on recruiting from the same communities. The numbers simply do not add up.

The sector has long been one of the least diverse in the UK. Women make up just 15% of the construction workforce, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds are significantly underrepresented, particularly in site-based and senior roles.

But representation is not only about filling quotas. The challenges companies face, from Net Zero to retrofit, new materials legislation and digital transformation, all of these challenges will not be solved by a workforce stuck in their ways. Diverse teams bring new perspectives, experiences and different ideas, which is exactly what an industry facing this scale of change genuinely needs.

As Diversity and Inclusion In Construction (DIIC)'s Faith Abudu highlights:

If everyone on site is building from the same blueprint, we will keep reproducing the same structure. Innovation happens when a different perspective reviews the plan, and the truth is...we cannot keep trying to use old blueprints for today's generation. It simply won't work.

Diversity and inclusion are not separate from the skills agenda, they are central to it. Every talented young person who never explores career options suited to their interests within construction is not just a missed opportunity for the individual, it is a loss the sector genuinely cannot afford.

What construction can do right now

The good news is that meaningful action does not require a large budget or a dedicated team! At Futures For All, we work with organisations of all sizes to make engaging with young people straightforward, flexible and genuinely impactful. Whether that is offering a virtual insight day, hosting a careers talk in a local school, or opening up a structured work placement, there are accessible ways for every employer to contribute.

Partner with a local school or college and offer a careers talk. Young people hearing directly from someone working in the industry is one of the most powerful things you can do to shift perception of what a career in construction looks and feels like.

Offer a structured work experience placement, in person or online. Even a single day on site or in an office, with a clear programme and a clear host, can change how a young person sees their future.

Think about who you are reaching. If your outreach is only going to schools in affluent areas, or to young people who already have connections in the industry, you are not solving the pipeline problem. You are reinforcing it.

Make engaging with your schools, young people and communities a business habit. The employers who see the greatest results from early talent engagement are those who build it into their annual calendar rather than treating it as an occasional act of goodwill.

A shared challenge, a shared responsibility

What UK Construction Week London demonstrated this year was an industry that is starting to take this seriously. The conversations in that room were honest, practical and genuinely motivated by a desire to do something different.

But events, panels and roundtables are only meaningful if they lead to action when back in the workplace. The skills gap the construction industry is facing is urgent, the window to act is narrowing. Young people who could fill that gap, who want to work, who are curious, capable and looking for a way in, are sitting in schools and colleges across the country right now, waiting to be invited.

The question for everyone reading this is simple: what are you waiting for?

This article originally appeared in AT Journal issue 158