Attracting talent isn’t the problem… keeping it is

The construction industry has spent years talking about how to attract new talent. It now needs to fix why they leave.

There are encouraging signs that more young people are entering the industry. Data from the Construction Skills Certification Scheme shows that more than a quarter of cardholders are now under 30, up eight percentage points over the past five years.

A recent CITB report, however, highlights the flipside: too many people are leaving the industry too soon. Just under half of apprentices do not complete their final assessment, while a significant share of new entrants leave within their first 12 months.

When young people leave early, we do not just lose numbers – we lose future supervisors, project leaders and specialists

That should concern the whole industry. When young people leave early, we do not just lose numbers. We lose future supervisors, project leaders and specialists, as well as the energy, ideas and ambition that new entrants bring.

If we want to build a workforce that is skilled, stable and fit for the future, recruitment must be the start – rather than the end – of the conversation. That means understanding why people leave, and what we can do to persuade them to stay.

Better support at the start

While some parts of the industry have embraced mentoring and structured development, elsewhere an outdated sink-or-swim mentality still prevails, with little patience for those still learning the ropes. This can be especially pronounced across subcontracting tiers, where supervision and career development are not always formalised or consistently delivered.

In the most fragmented parts of the industry, responsibility for training can become blurred and fall between the cracks, with no one employer fully owning the task.

Commercial pressures only add to the problem: when teams are working to tight deadlines and tighter margins, it becomes much harder for experienced colleagues to carve out time to support newer entrants.

What is needed is structured onboarding, shadowing opportunities and protected time for both trainees and those supporting them. Exposure to senior colleagues is especially important at this stage and should be seen as a necessary investment. Just as important is a broader commitment to creating the kind of nurturing, supportive environment where questions are encouraged and mistakes are treated as part of the learning process.

At Legendre UK, we have seen how powerful sustained investment in supportive training can be. Team members who started with us in apprentice roles have been supported through structured programmes, shadowing and consistent mentorship to stay and progress within the company, building careers that benefit both themselves and the wider sector.

A clearer sense of what is possible

Another reason young people leave is that too many do not get a clear enough sense of where a career in construction can take them.

Someone who feels disengaged in one area of the business might well thrive in another

Career paths are not always explained clearly, progression can feel vague and entrants are often left seeing only the narrow slice of the industry directly in front of them. In the rush of day-to-day project delivery, it is easy to forget how little visibility a new entrant has of the sector as a whole. That matters, because someone who feels disengaged in one area of the business might well thrive in another. Without exposure to different roles, teams or disciplines, young workers may conclude too quickly that construction is not for them.

Broader exposure to the breadth of the industry is invaluable. In France, I saw this first-hand through an 18-month training programme that rotated young people in roles across commercial, production, procurement and design departments. It may have slowed specialisation at the beginning, but it helped trainees discover their strengths and interests earlier. It is a worthwhile trade-off if it leads to more engaged people building careers that last.

Construction needs to sell itself better

Finally, we need to make construction more attractive to ambitious young people from all backgrounds. Too often, the sector does not enjoy the status it deserves in the UK, despite the scale of its impact and the breadth of careers it offers. It is also still too often seen as a male-dominated industry, which can make it harder for talented young people who do not fit that mould to picture a career within it.

For employers, this means doing a better job of showcasing the parts of the industry that resonate with the next generation. With 67% of young talent willing to sacrifice salary to work for a company aligned with their values, sustainability and low-carbon construction are not only central to the sector’s future, but key to attracting and retaining value-driven talent.

Our industry is doing genuinely exciting work in this area. At Original Work’s 10 Salisbury Square redevelopment, for example, Legendre UK is employing all-electric MEP systems, recycled steel, a recycled raised access floor, retaining 90% of the existing structure and reusing materials from the existing building. This is the kind of innovation young people should be seeing when they look at construction; it shows a future-facing industry tackling major challenges in exciting new ways. As a sector, we need to get much better at telling that story.

Bringing young people into construction is one thing. Giving them reasons to stay is another. To do that, the industry must be willing to adapt to better support what new entrants need: better support at the start, clearer routes for growth and a stronger, more inclusive case for why construction is worth committing to. If we get that right, we can do more than improve recruitment numbers. We can build a workforce with the experience, motivation and staying power the industry will need in the years ahead.

Tanguy Guerer is head of preconstruction at Legendre UK