FEMALE APPRENTICES
The increase in the number of women completing construction apprenticeships since 2018 has increased by 67 per cent, according to the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), with a 2023/24 total of 2,420.
Lucie Wright, head of careers strategy at the 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.”
BEST LAID PLANS
The annual number of homes given planning approval has fallen by a quarter since 2021, according to the Home Builders Federation.
WORKLOADS FALL
Members of the Federation of Master Builders reported shrinking workloads in the last quarter (Q4) of 2024, compared with Q3.
HIGHER PRICES
AtkinsRéalis has bumped up its tender price growth forecast for 2025 by half a percentage point, to 3.5 per cent.
1%
The percentage of new housing in the UK now being built to Passivhaus standards, according to the Passivhaus Trust.
8 in 10
The proportion of costruction SMEs that anticipate a skills gap within their business, the Department for Education has found.
833,188
The number of family-owned construction companies in the UK, according to the Family Business Research Foundation
49
The number of Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations (out of 58) the government has accepted in full.
LOCAL HEROES
Local authorities applied to build nearly 3,200 new homes in 2024, with Birmingham in the lead, according to data from Glenigan.
