Construction apprenticeships: how SME builders can build the skilled workforce they need

The construction industry is facing a growing skills challenge, with an ageing workforce, difficulties recruiting and retaining apprentices, and a need to bring more people from underrepresented groups into the sector.

In this episode of Build Up From the Basement, host Iona Stewart-Richardson is joined by Steve Rotherham, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. Before becoming mayor, Steve was an MP for seven years and began his career with a bricklaying apprenticeship.

Drawing on his experience as both a former tradesperson and a regional political leader, Steve discusses the construction skills gap, apprentice retention, barriers facing small building companies and the need to make construction a more accessible and attractive career.

Watch the full episode to hear the full discussion.

Why this topic matters for building businesses

For small building companies, skills shortages are a practical business issue. When there are not enough skilled people available, businesses can struggle to take on work, maintain capacity and prepare for future demand.

Steve Rotherham discusses the consequences of an ageing construction workforce and the need to develop the next generation of skilled workers.

His own experience of apprenticeship training also informs his view of what construction can offer. He describes the problem-solving, planning and teamwork skills he developed on site as skills that have stayed with him throughout his career.

"The construction sector can take it in all sorts of directions."

For SME builders, the discussion is particularly relevant to the challenge of bringing new entrants into the industry while continuing to deliver work commercially.

Watch the full episode for Steve Rotherham's perspective on how construction businesses can approach the workforce challenge.

Key risks, challenges or pressures discussed in the episode

The episode explores several pressures affecting the construction workforce, including the ageing workforce and the difficulty of attracting enough new entrants.

Steve warns that hundreds of thousands of workers could leave the industry over the next decade, increasing pressure on an already limited skills pool. He links this directly to construction costs and the industry's ability to deliver the work being created.

For smaller building companies, the discussion also addresses a more immediate problem: apprentice retention. Businesses invest time and resources in training people who can then leave once they have developed the skills and become more productive.

The episode also considers:

• the bureaucracy involved in taking on apprentices
• perceptions around vocational qualifications
• the lack of diversity within construction
• facilities and site conditions that can discourage people from entering the industry
• the need to prepare the workforce for changes in construction, including modern methods of construction and AI.

These are not simply recruitment issues. They affect the industry's ability to meet future demand.

Practical improvements or actions referenced in the discussion

A significant part of the conversation focuses on making apprenticeships easier for small businesses to access.

Steve discusses work with CITB on a workforce development model designed to reduce some of the barriers employers face when taking people on. He identifies bureaucracy as one of the problems that can make apprenticeships unnecessarily difficult for small builders.

The discussion also looks at the role of local skills planning. In the Liverpool City Region, Steve describes an approach that brings together employers, colleges, training providers and government to identify the skills needed to meet future construction demand.

For SME builders, the wider point is about making skills provision work around the realities of running a small construction business.

As Steve puts it:

"If you're the small builder ... you're worrying about next week and next month."

Watch the full episode to hear more about the workforce development model and the changes Steve believes could make it easier for smaller businesses to take on apprentices.

Specialist or expert insight

Steve Rotherham brings direct construction experience to the discussion. Before entering politics, he completed a bricklaying apprenticeship and worked in construction. He later became an MP for seven years and is now Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.

That combination of experience gives the conversation a practical focus on the relationship between skills policy and what happens on building sites.

Steve discusses the value of apprenticeship training, the importance of problem-solving and communication skills, and the need to ensure that people entering construction can see a longer-term career beyond their first trade.

He also discusses the importance of workforce diversity, including bringing more women and people from underrepresented groups into construction.

"If you've only ever fished in half of a pond, then you're not gonna get all the best fish."

The discussion considers what businesses, training providers and policymakers can do to widen the pool of people entering construction.

Systems, professionalism or raising standards

The episode also considers the practical conditions that businesses need to provide if they want to attract and retain a wider workforce.

Steve reflects on how much site standards have changed since he started in construction, including improvements in PPE, welfare facilities and health and safety.

He argues that these should be treated as basic expectations rather than optional extras, particularly if the industry wants to attract people who may not traditionally have seen construction as a career for them.

The conversation also addresses health and safety training for new entrants and the importance of giving apprentices appropriate basic skills before they enter the workplace.

For small building companies, these issues sit alongside the commercial realities of training someone who is initially less productive and deciding how to retain them as their skills develop.

FMB member support or resource

The episode recognises that smaller building companies face particular barriers when taking on apprentices, including the time required to navigate apprenticeship systems alongside managing live contracts and maintaining a pipeline of work.

Iona also highlights the role of the Federation of Master Builders in promoting construction careers and supporting the wider development of the sector.

The discussion reinforces the need for the industry to work collectively, rather than leaving responsibility for addressing the skills shortage to individual businesses.

Watch the full episode for the wider discussion about apprenticeships, skills development and the pressures facing SME builders.

Watch the full episode

Construction businesses cannot build the future workforce without bringing more people into the industry and giving them meaningful opportunities to develop their skills.

In this episode of Build Up From the Basement, Iona Stewart-Richardson speaks to Steve Rotherham, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, about his route from bricklaying apprentice to politics, and the construction workforce challenges he sees today.

The discussion covers construction apprenticeships, apprentice retention, the skills shortage, workforce diversity, site conditions and the barriers facing small building companies.

It also explores a workforce development model being developed with CITB in the Liverpool City Region and Steve's views on how local skills planning could help businesses prepare for future construction demand.

Watch the full episode of Build Up From the Basement to hear the complete conversation.

Watch the full episode now.