September 2013
Featured in this insight: Business & enterprise, Construction
Research shows demand for construction apprenticeships rises a fifth: New figures from the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) reveal that eleven people applied for each construction apprenticeship posted online during 2012/13.
Over the past twelve months, 60,410 applications were made for apprenticeship vacancies in the construction, planning and built environment sector - an increase of a fifth (21%) from 2011/12, when 49,990 applications were submitted.
However, opportunities in the sector have only increased by a tenth (11%), with 5,285 vacancies advertised this year, up from 4,751 last year.
In the three months to May 2013, figures from the NAS showed a downward trend in the number of apprenticeship vacancies in construction. During the period, 1,635 construction apprenticeships were advertised through the NAS online database, down a tenth (10.4%) from 1,824 vacancies during the same period in 2012.
Overall, the research shows that apprenticeship applications increased by nearly a third year-on-year, with 1.4 million applications being made in the past twelve months, compared with 1.06 million in 2011/12.
Skills Minister Matthew Hancock, said:
“We want to see it become the norm that young people either go to university or into an apprenticeship… To match the growing popularity of apprenticeships, I would urge more employers to consider how hiring an apprentice could benefit their business.”
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