This National Apprenticeship Week (10 – 16 February 2025), the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) reveals it has supported over 24,000 learners and nearly 9,000 employers with apprenticeship grants between April to December 2024.

The theme of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week is ‘Skills for Life’. There are over 180 different occupations in construction and over 100 different construction apprenticeship roles that lead to careers in the industry for people at every stage of their life.

CITB committed almost £150 million for apprenticeship grants between April 2023 and February 2025, and in the financial year so far, the body has provided over £50 million to employers for apprenticeship grants. Close to 8,000 of the employers assisted are micro and small businesses of fewer than 50 employees.

CITB’s New Entrant Support Team (NEST) has also supported over 3,500 new apprenticeship starts between April and December 2024 – more than doubling the number of new apprentices it has helped join the industry compared to the previous period. NEST provides hands-on, free support to help employers recruit apprentices.

Additionally, CITB’s National Construction College (NCC) has seen its overall achievement rate for apprenticeships increase for three years running and is on track to make it four, with achievement rates for 2024-25 poised to reach the 70% target by the end of the financial year.

This will be 16% above the national average and, importantly, 92% of people completing their apprenticeships through the NCC stay in the industry, demonstrating the significant impact CITB’s NCC improvement programme has had.

Deb Madden, Executive Director for Nations Engagement at CITB, said: “A career in construction is an incredibly fulfilling one that I encourage everyone to consider. Nothing beats the valuable skills to be learnt, the sense of accomplishment seeing a project completed, and the well-paid roles that are available.

“There’s a misconception that construction jobs don’t pay well, but this simply isn’t true – the average UK construction worker's salary is over £44,000, almost £9,000 higher than the average UK salary.

“It’s fantastic to see the impact CITB’s New Entrant Support Team and National Construction College are having, supporting learners to gain skills for life and employers to grow their business.

“If you’re interested in pursuing an apprenticeship or hiring an apprentice, I urge you to get in contact with CITB to find out how we can support you.”