The data was obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by builder’s merchant and breeze block walls material supplier Travis Perkins.

Travis Perkins has compiled the statistics after receiving responses to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request about construction-related courses from Bedford College, City of Glasgow College, Chichester College and Hull College.

The age split of people on these types of courses is also swinging towards the younger generations, as we will delve into further when analysing the data received. At three of the four colleges which responded to the FOI request, it was found that the enrolment percentage split has seen an increase in female students for the 2023/24 student year compared to the previous year.

Even at Chichester College where the percentage split didn’t rise, the number has kept consistent.

The percentage splits across the four colleges in full are as follows:

• Bedford College – 6% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by women, up from 4% in the 2022/23 study year.
• City of Glasgow College – 21.1% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by women, up from 17.1% in the 2022/23 study year.
• Chichester College – 5.6% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by women, the same as was recorded in the 2022/23 study year.
• Hull College – 6.7% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by women, up from 6.6% in the 2022/23 study year.    

While responses to the FOI request have seen colleges reporting differently on the age range of students enrolled onto trade courses, one key theme has emerged – classrooms have a greater proportion of younger students.

At Bedford College:

• 65.4% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 16-18, up from 58.9% in the 2022/23 study year.
• 11.1% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 19-24, up from 10.8% in the 2022/23 study year.

At City of Glasgow College

• 25.6% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged under 18, up from 21% in the 2022/23 study year.
• 17.1% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 21-24, up from 16.6% in the 2022/23 study year.

At Chichester College

• 24.4% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 19-24, up from 23.2% in the 2022/23 study year.

At Hull College

• 71.1% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 16-18, up from 16.3% in the 2022/23 study year.
• 14.9% of all enrolments onto trade courses for the 2023/24 study year were by those aged 19-23, up from 14.8% in the 2022/23 study year.
   

These findings come soon after careers education national body Careers & Enterprise Company carried out a survey of 100,000 young people and found that construction is one of the top job choices by the time students have reached Year 11 and are studying for their GSCEs. It appears there is a lot of young talent coming into the construction industry, if studies such as these are anything to go by. 

Another part of the FOI request was to obtain the most popular trade courses in the 2023/24 study year.

The data indivated that the most popular trade courses at City of Glasgow College in 2023/24 were:

• Construction Crafts Skills For Work (61 enrolments)
• HND Architectural Technology With Digital Construction (SCQF Level 8) (50 enrolments)
• PDA Painting and Decorating (49 enrolments)

Travis Perkins concluded: “From a higher proportion of women studying trade courses to classrooms being filled with younger students and across a wide variety of subjects, there is plenty to take from the FOI request to feel positive about the construction industry’s future.”