NEWS
NEETs crisis sees nearly half of young people considering a career in the trades, but barriers remain
Updated 07/26
With more than a million 16- to 25-year-olds out of work and the wider job market in flux, growing numbers of young people are looking to the trades for a secure future.
Trade career demand
More than a million young people out of work is driving huge interest in becoming a builder, plumber, or electrician, with nearly half (48%) of young people now considering a career in the trades.
Apprenticeships first choice
Young people say an apprenticeship (39%) is now more appealing than going to university (32%) .
Trade warnings
But tradespeople themselves warn it isn’t an easy route into work. Eight in ten (78%) believe young people aren’t prepared for the world of work when they leave school, and just 12% have hired an apprentice in the last year.
New research from Checkatrade, the UK's leading platform for home improvements, reveals that nearly half (48%) of all young people are considering a job as a plumber, builder, or electrician, with earning potential and job stability the leading reasons for trade jobs moving from a last resort to a first choice career.
As economic analysis shows that the UK will need 1.3m additional tradespeople over the next ten years to meet its housebuilding and net zero targets, apprenticeships — the traditional route into the trade industry — have surged in popularity and are now more popular than going to university.
Based on a nationally representative poll of 3,000 people across the UK, including young people, parents, homeowners, and tradespeople, nearly four in ten (39%) under-25s believe an apprenticeship is more appealing than a degree, compared with three in ten (32%) who favour university. Ten years ago, just 3% said that an apprenticeship was their first choice.
As well as the NEETs crisis, young people’s support for moving into practical jobs is also a response to the impact of AI on the labour market. Eight in ten (80%) say AI has made them concerned about the job security of traditional office-based careers, and three-quarters (75%) want to prioritise a career where their skills and experience can't easily be replaced by a machine.
But despite surging interest and rising job opportunities, tradespeople warn that there are significant barriers holding young people back from entering the industry.
More than three-quarters (78%) say young people aren’t ready for work when they leave school, and nearly seven in ten (68%) warn that the next generation hasn’t developed the work ethic needed for a job that is hard, physical and demands long, unsociable hours.
While apprenticeships have seen a huge increase in popularity among young people, the traditional pathway into the trades has also become a challenge for Britain’s trades, the majority of which are small businesses.
With apprenticeship starts across the country dropping from 522,000 in 2011 to 354,000 in 2025, just 12% of trade businesses took on an apprentice in the last year, and three in every five (58%) say that the Government’s recent changes to the apprenticeship system haven’t yet made them reconsider whether to take on an apprentice.
Checkatrade says reform is needed to get more young people into the industry, including:
Helping young people meet the cost of starting out in the industry, with the Government offering apprentices from low-income households a starter grant to cover the cost of tools, travel, and protective kit.
Rewarding young people and businesses who see their apprenticeship through to completion, with a National Insurance break for employers when an apprentice completes their training and stays on with the business.
Putting practical skills back at the heart of the apprenticeship, stripping them of the paperwork and off-the-job requirements that do little to build competence, so that time is spent learning the trade where it matters: on site, with tools in hand.
Jambu Palaniappan, CEO of Checkatrade, said:
“For the first time in generations, young people are choosing the trades over university. These are well-paid, secure, and rewarding careers that will never be replaced by AI. Young people have the ambition, but what too many of them lack is the right opportunity.
“Right now there is a gap between the young people who want in and the businesses ready to train them up. With the right support, taking on an apprentice can be straightforward for a plumber or an electrician, and getting this right is how we will build the homes the country needs and means we can give hundreds of thousands of young people a route into work.”