Construction is considered an 鈥榓ttractive鈥� career prospect by 56% of the 2,000 young people (18 to 29 years old) who took part in the survey.
They were asked 鈥淗ow attractive or unattractive do you consider a career in the construction sector?鈥�;聽 24% said 鈥渧ery attractive鈥� and 32% said 鈥渟omewhat attractive鈥�. Only 16% considered it somewhat or very unattractive.
However, when given a list of careers and asked which they most like to have (they were asked for their top two), only 9% put 鈥渟killed trade e.g. plumber, carpenter, bricklayer, electrician鈥�. Among students in the sample, only 4% had any interest in a construction trade.
Students were also more likely to regard construction as an unattractive career prospect compared to those already working. Of the 129 unemployed young people responding to the survey, 35% regarded a career in construction as 鈥渧ery attractive鈥�.
鈥淓ngineer鈥� was in the top two most desired careers for 12% of the survey panel, making it second only to medical and healthcare professional (favoured by 13%). However, it is not clear whether respondents envisaged a career as an engineer in construction rather than software or space travel.
Only 8% of respondents had architect in their top two roles. Finance, social media influencer, designer and educator all scored more highly than construction trades.
Among those who don鈥檛 fancy construction, top reasons given were that it was dirty and manual (52%), dangerous (37%), sexist (33%) and dull (22%).
Among those who like the idea of construction, the top reasons given were that it is 鈥渁n industry going through massive change鈥� (35%), they love architecture (32%), they want a practical job (32%), and they want to 鈥渃reate a better physical world鈥� (31%). 聽The fact that there are a lot of routes into a well-paying career with a university education was also appreciated by 31% of construction fans.
Given the absence of any earlier data with which to compare, the results are clearly inconclusive. However, the survey sponsor, NBS, drew its own conclusions, apparently on the basis that construction has, in the past, generally had a hard time attracting the brightest and best of Britain's young talent. 鈥淭he survey indicates a distinct cultural shift in attitudes amongst younger generations, in part, helped by the growing number of digital opportunities available and extensive media attention around the sector鈥檚 use of industry-leading tech, dispelling the myth that construction is a dead-end career,鈥� it declared.
Russell Haworth, chief executive of NBS (formerly National Building Specification), said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that perceptions around construction are changing. Young people now realise it鈥檚 not the dull, dangerous, and dirty job as mislabelled for years by educators and career advisors. It鈥檚 great to see such an uptick in interest following some very lean years recruitment-wise."
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