National Careers Week 2025 takes place in the UK from March 3rd to 8th. This is an important annual event for young people considering potential career pathways, and workers looking for a career change.
For construction employers, National Careers Week is an opportunity to talk to career seekers about the industry at recruitment events, industry talks, workshops and site visits.
With initiatives such as the new skills hubs backed by £140m of industry investment, construction employers are keen to engage with students, career changers, educators and parents to advocate for construction as a modern, rewarding career path.
Why choose a career in construction?
The construction sector is on the up, with total construction output forecast to rise by 2.5% in 2025 and 3.8% in 2026. This is good news for anyone considering a career in construction. The industry offers an abundance of career opportunities thanks, in no small part, to the skills gap and challenging government targets for housebuilding.
Attracting fresh talent to the sector is a key priority for industry employers.
Technology and AI
Technology and AI are predicted to influence UK construction growth. Drones, laser scanning for the capture of precise data, Building Information Modelling (BIM), data analysis and predictive insights are just some of the advances in technology and AI that are attracting younger, tech hungry candidates to the industry.
Diversity of roles
The breadth of construction disciplines and career paths offers a diversity of roles to choose from. Civil engineering, project management, skilled trades and mechanical engineering are just some of the areas that offer stimulating, long term careers.
Skilled professionals and attractive earning potential
There is a high demand for skilled professionals across the construction sector for roles that offer attractive earning potential. A recent article in Electrical Times cites data that reveals a higher than average percentage increase in the salary of trades and construction and building professionals.
- The average annual salary of a tradesperson in 2024 was £34,554; a rise of 6.1% on 2023 salaries
- Construction and building professionals saw the biggest salary boost at a rise of 13.4% to an average £34,257.
Women in construction
According to Go Construct, currently representing 14% of construction industry professionals, the number of women in construction is on the rise. As misconceptions about gender-specific roles diminish, women are increasingly attracted to the rewards of a career in construction and engineering.
Construction as a modern career path
Construction has, in the past, been overlooked as a career path for younger people because of its ageing workforce and labour-intensive image. However, the drive within the industry to rebrand construction as a modern career path to attract more apprentices and education leavers, is gathering pace.
The recent Strategic Resourcing article, ‘Rebranding Construction as a Modern Career Path’, explores attitudes to the construction industry. Insiders view the sector differently to outsiders, finding construction to be a diverse and flexible sector that is aligned with their values. The article also identifies apprenticeships as offering structured career pathways that inspire individual growth and learning within a construction organisation.
Useful resources
For any students, educators, parents or career changers considering careers in construction, below you will find some resources which we hope you will find useful:
General Career Guidance
National Careers Service: www.nationalcareers.service.gov.uk
Go Construct: goconstruct.org
Prospects (graduate careers): prospects.ac.uk
Apprenticeships and Training
Find an apprenticeship: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
Construction Industry Training Board: citb.co.uk
The Prince’s Trust: princes-trust.org.uk
CITB: England apprenticeships we pay grants for
Employing an apprentice/funding: Gov.UK
Professional Organisations
Chartered Institute of Building: ciob.org
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors: rics.org
Construction Skills Certification Scheme: cscs.uk.com
Educational Resources
Future Learn: futurelearn.com
The Open University: open.ac.uk
Universities and Colleges Admissions Services: ucas.com
Industry News and Networking
Construction News: constructionnews.co.uk
Building: building.co.uk
LinkedIn: linkedin.com
Initiatives for Women in Construction
The National Association of Women in Construction: nawic.co.uk
Women Into Science and Engineering: wisecampaign.org.uk
Strategic Resourcing
Strategic Resourcing is a streamlined, digital resourcing platform for the construction sector. For more information, visit www.strategicresourcing.co.uk.
As an operations manager, Marley orchestrates the synergy between people, processes, and projects. She is passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to enhance recruiters’ platform performance, continually refining processes to maximise efficiency and effectiveness for Strategic Resourcing’s client base.