The number of women starting construction apprenticeships has risen dramatically in recent years according to a new report from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The ‘Construction Apprenticeships 2025: Challenges. Opportunities. Support’ report found that 1,450 women started a construction apprenticeship in 2018-19, but this has jumped to 2,420 to in 2023-24.
The findings, compiled using statistics from the Department for Education, reveal a two-thirds (67%) increase in women starting construction apprenticeships. The positive news is enhanced with CITB’s report also showing that the number of women completing their apprenticeships significantly increased over the same period.
In total 340 women completed their construction apprenticeship in 2018-19, but this had increased by more than 170% to 930 women completing their apprenticeship in 2023-24.
This rise in female starters and completions suggests a future with greater gender diversity in the construction industry. Changing attitudes towards gender roles and the introduction of policies aimed at promoting gender equality will help further decrease the gender and skills gaps.
The findings are a positive sign for the construction industry, and CITB intends to build upon this. Earlier this week, the company launched the 2025 iteration of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Awards. Additionally, in its recent Strategic Plan 2025 – 29, CITB listed one of its key objectives is to inspire and enable diverse and skilled people into construction.
CITB intends to promote construction careers to over 5 million potential new entrants, highlighting that there are over 180 different occupations in the industry. Similarly, there are over 100 different construction apprenticeship roles that lead to careers in the industry for people at every stage of their career.
Lucie Wright, Head of Careers Strategy at CITB, said: “We need more women in construction. It’s incredibly heartening to see the number of women starting construction apprenticeships increasing – long may this continue. As an industry, we need to actively promote to as diverse a range of applicants as possible and make sure we get the conditions for working in the industry right for as many different people as possible.
“We recently launched the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Awards 2025, back for the fourth year running. The programme is one of the ways we strive to recognise the wonderful women and allies who are driving real change in the construction industry.
“For any women thinking about their career options, I and CITB urge you to consider a career in construction. There’s so much to admire about the industry, and it’s a great place for women to work and thrive.”
Read the full report ‘Construction Apprenticeships 2025: Challenges. Opportunities. Support’ here.
