Construction Sector Urges A-Level Students to Look Beyond University

As students across the country receive their A-level results today and consider their next steps, the construction sector is calling for vocational routes into the industry to be made more visible to young people.

Vocational Pathways

Recent research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) highlights how little-known some alternative education pathways remain. A Savanta poll of 2,107 UK adults found that 78% had never heard of T Levels, while only 57% had heard of BTECs and 39% were aware of degree apprenticeships.

With new V Level qualifications set to create another route into technical and vocational education, the construction industry continues to face a significant skills gap and needs to attract the next generation of tradespeople.

Andy Rayner, Director of Skills and Apprenticeships at Travis Perkins Plc, said: “As an apprenticeship employer that has supported more than 2,000 apprentices, Travis Perkins understands how important clear vocational pathways are in strengthening the UK’s future workforce.

“Construction offers skilled, long-term careers, but the industry continues to face a significant skills gap. Creating routes that allow students to combine academic learning with practical, job-focused training can help more people see construction as a viable and rewarding career.

“The planned introduction of construction V Levels is a positive step. Alongside apprenticeships, college courses and retraining opportunities, qualifications like this can help widen access to the industry and support the next generation of skilled tradespeople.”

Look Beyond University

The financial benefits of choosing a vocational route could also help to encourage more young people towards construction. The FMB research found almost a third of adults (31%) would be more likely to encourage a young person to pursue a career in construction if it meant avoiding student debt.

The research comes as the average student loan debt in England reaches £47,900 for those who finished their course in 2023 and became liable to repay in April 2026, according to the House of Commons Library.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said that the opportunity to start a career without taking on a student debt could be a significant attraction, but warned that more needs to be done to promote construction as an alternative to university.

“Starting out debt free should be an encouraging starting point to get new starters into construction. But clearly there is a way to go to encourage people into the industry”, Berry said.

“While we want to encourage students of all routes into the industry, the reality is that a generation has been encouraged to go to university with the result that graduates are saddled with debt. Nobody is telling them there is another way – one where you could earn from day one. We want more young people to learn a trade as these are the people who can end up running their own business.”

Berry also said that improving awareness of vocational careers must go hand in hand with greater support for employers, particularly small construction businesses, to provide training and work placements.

He added, “A third of adults already say avoiding debt would make them back a building career. But what’s also needed is support for small building companies to take young people on in the first place, including work placements.

“Training an apprentice is a costly and administratively heavy endeavour for a small building company –the government needs to look hard at this if we are to build up the next generation of tradespeople.”

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