Young people examining their career prospects should be considering entering the building and construction industry, according to research by builders’ merchant Gibbs & Dandy.

It found that trade professionals, including builders, joiners, electricians, plumbers, and painters and decorators, are strong supporters of attracting a younger workforce with 78% saying they would recommend their trade as a potential career.

A sample of reasons given by trade professionals include:

  • “I am 45 and since leaving school at 16 I have never been out of work”
  • “It can provide you with a good income for life and can still be there to fall back on if you decide to have a career change”
  • “It gives you great motivation to get out there and wok for a living”
  • “It has its hard days but to stand back and see something that you have created is very fulfilling.”

Young people who may be concerned about job security and future prospects will also take heart in the positivity shown by trade professionals in the future of the industry, despite the UK leaving the EU.

When asked how they felt about the short to medium (1-5 years) future of the building industry, more than two thirds (69.5%) of trade professionals said they were optimistic, while only 12% were pessimistic. The remaining didn’t know.

Additionally, when asked if they’d experienced any change in their workload since the UK voted to leave the EU on 23rd June, 14% had seen an increase in work, while 84% said their workload was about the same as before the vote.

In terms of the amount of work available, 2016 has been shaping up very well for trade professionals when compared to 2015. This high level of confidence in the industry is reflected by 91% of tradespeople seeing their workload either staying the same or increasing this year compared to 2015.

And, during 2016 to date, three quarters of respondents said there was always work available for them, while only 6.5% said they went 1-3 three days without work due to a lack of jobs available, 4.7% went 4-7 days without work, 7.1% went 2-4 weeks and 3.6% had to wait more than a month before work became available.

Neil Lawrence, managing director of Gibbs & Dandy, said: “The building and construction industry is a fantastic field for young people to develop a career in, and it’s great to see so many professional tradespeople encouraging young people to enter it.

“This country will always need high quality tradespeople, so learning a skill, from carpentry and plumbing, to bricklaying and plastering, means the potential for having a job for life, and not many industries can say that.”