Apprenticeships: Why the dropout rate is so high and how we can reduce it

Ryan Paterson is managing director at Dart Tool Group

The British trade sector is facing a crisis. On one hand, demand for skilled labour is at an all-time high, driven by a national push for new homes and a massive transition towards green infrastructure. On the other hand, there aren’t enough skilled workers to meet demand, and the apprenticeship pathway is struggling with a ‘leaky pipeline’.

“The core issue isn’t that there aren’t enough apprentices, it’s that not enough people are completing their apprenticeships”

The government has promised to deliver 1.5 million new homes by 2030, which will require an estimated 140,000 extra construction workers for the next five years. To put the scale of the challenge into perspective, according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the construction sector needs to recruit over 47,000 new entrants every year just to fill the gaps.

Yet Dart Tool Group’s Apprenticeship Gap Report, which analyses data from the Department for Education, demonstrates that, across all trades, there are just 809 apprenticeship openings to fill 86,047 current job vacancies. This creates a ratio of 106 jobs competing for every single apprenticeship place. Within construction, this gap narrows slightly to 99:1, with a deficit of over 14,100 unfilled jobs available.

However, the core issue isn’t that there aren’t enough apprentices, it’s that not enough people are completing their apprenticeships. Often, apprentices are trained by smaller firms rather than larger contractors. For these businesses, an apprentice is a significant financial investment, not just a statistic. When a trainee leaves the scheme early, it can financially hurt the company.

Consequently, when employers face high dropout rates, they become far less likely to take a chance on the next candidate, creating fewer opportunities for the next wave of apprentices.

A worrying trend

Across the board, we are seeing a worrying trend where fewer than half of all trade apprentices are completing their training. While manufacturing leads with a 49 per cent completion rate in 2024/25, sectors like surveying, design and management have plummeted to just 19 per cent.

For construction, a 41 per cent completion rate might look more stable on paper, but it represents a significant drop from 65 per cent one year prior – a clear warning sign that retention is fast becoming a critical failure point for the industry.

A significant driver for high dropout rates is that the pathways aren’t clear enough. While around 130,000 people start a construction apprenticeship every year, only 40,000 will secure employment in the industry, according to the CITB – demonstrating the need for more guidance and support during the training process.

This support could be as simple as career guidance, dedicated mentoring, or a better onsite training experience that helps trainees gain a real sense of meaningful impact.

Furthermore, there are outdated stereotypes associated with some manual labour, which need to be tackled. By positioning trade careers as a viable route earlier in college, and through trade recruiters, it can highlight the real progression opportunities from apprentice to site lead, and how rewarding the job can be in terms of growth.

Introducing young people to sites earlier can help spark interest, build understanding of the industry and break down stereotypes, positioning trade careers as a credible alternative to university pathways.

Addressing the apprenticeship gap requires widespread collaboration from the industry. As part of the government’s £600m construction skills package, it has promised 10 new state-of-the-art Technical Excellence Colleges to help train apprentices and funding to support employers deliver bespoke training. The CITB has provided an extra £32m to help improve industry placements.

This funding uplift is essential, as it allows more employers to partner with local colleges and other training providers. These partnerships are central to retention and boosting construction apprentice numbers. They ensure apprentices are getting all the support they need, both onsite and in the classroom.