THE Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has hailed the impact of its New Entrant Support Team (NEST) initiative, after mid-year figures revealed it supported 1,521 apprenticeship starts between April and September this year – an increase from 943 in the same period in 2024.
The figures also show that in the same period this year, 9,201 employers were engaged, with the aim to recruit an apprentice into their business – a 48% rise compared to the same period in 2024. In the last full financial year 2024-25, CITB’s NEST supported 4,000 apprenticeship starts, almost doubling from the previous financial year 2023-24 – and the team is currently on track to outperform this in the 2025-26 financial year.
NEST aims to help make finding, recruiting and retaining an apprentice or new entrant easier for employers, and works with them to remove barriers. CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook report estimates the UK needs to recruit 47,860 extra workers each year to meet demand for housing, infrastructure and maintenance.
As part of the government’s £600 million investment into construction skills, CITB said it will invest £32 million to fund over 40,000 industry placements each year for all Level 2 and Level 3 learners, those studying NVQs, BTECs, T Levels and advanced apprenticeships. CITB will also double the size of its NEST programme to support SMEs in recruiting, engaging, and retaining apprentices.
Deb Madden, executive director, customer engagement and operations, said, “Construction employers need to be confident that they’ve got effective and prompt support available to meet their skills and training needs. NEST is providing exactly that, and it’s great to see the year-on-year increase in the number of employers and learners the team is supporting.
“A strong pipeline of apprentices and construction workers is required to build the millions of homes and hundreds of infrastructure projects needed. We’re really pleased to see how impactful NEST is, and I look forward to seeing the good work continue to give employers access to hands-on, dedicated support.”
