Government publishes Construction Jobs Plan with 40,000 placements a year and ten industry pledges

The government has published the Industrial Strategy Construction Jobs Plan, a national framework for the sector's workforce and skills, backed by 40,000 industry placements a year and ten commitments agreed by industry.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade published the plan on GOV.UK as a policy paper on 19 October 2026. The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) flagged it in a news post dated 20 October.

According to the CLC, the plan brings government and industry together to build the workforce needed to deliver 1.5 million homes, £725bn of infrastructure investment over 10 years and upgrades to 5 million existing buildings.

Jonathan Reynolds, Business Secretary, said: "Reindustrialising Britain means giving workers the skills they need to get good jobs in growing industries."

The package

The government is providing an extra £625m through the Construction Skills Package, the CLC said. According to the council, this includes 40,000 industry placements each year for eligible Level 2 and Level 3 construction learners aged 16 and over, up to 10,000 construction-focused Foundation Apprenticeships and 35,000 additional construction-focused Skills Bootcamp places.

The government's press release, issued jointly with the Department for Work and Pensions, said the 40,000 construction placements a year form part of a previously announced construction industry ambition to create 100,000 job opportunities a year.

The Construction Skills Mission Board set that ambition for industry to create 100,000 job opportunities a year by the end of this Parliament, the CLC said.

A Construction Apprenticeship Network will be created to boost apprentice recruitment and participation by smaller firms, according to the government. Alongside this, the government is offering a new incentive of up to £2,000 for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that take on a 16 to 24-year-old apprentice.

Pat McFadden, Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "Too many young people have been locked out of opportunities for too long."

The ten commitments

Industry has agreed ten commitments to tackle the sector's workforce and skills challenges, the CLC said. These cover developing sector-specific skills plans, improving strategic workforce planning, strengthening good employment practices and exploring how AI and industrialised construction can improve productivity.

The government said the plan commits industry to identifying jobs and skills needs nationally, regionally and locally, and to preparing workers for AI and industrialised construction. The CLC said local and regional delivery will be central to the plan.

The policy paper describes the plan as a national framework for addressing the sector's workforce and skills challenges and the barriers to workforce investment and development. It calls for government, industry, local leaders and delivery partners to work together in a way that avoids duplication, overlap and competing activities.

Background

Much of the package dates from earlier announcements. The Construction Skills Mission Board first met on 26 June 2025, when it launched the industry commitment to recruit 100,000 more construction workers a year by the end of the Parliament, according to a GOV.UK release from that time.

That June 2025 release said more than 40,000 industry placements would be funded through a further £100m of government money alongside a £32m contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). It also said the £625m investment was expected to create up to 60,000 more jobs for engineers, electricians and joiners by the end of the parliament.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the government announced the initial £625m package in March 2025 for up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers by 2029. In its July 2026 report on increasing construction skills, the NAO said the government needs to manage significant risks to achieve its aspiration for up to 60,000 more construction workers. The NAO reported that in June 2025 there were 1.9 million construction jobs.

Other sector plans

The Construction Jobs Plan was published alongside a Professional and Business Services Jobs Plan, which the government said will support 22,400 new under-25 apprenticeships a year. The government said Jobs Plans are being developed across all eight growth-driving sectors identified in the Modern Industrial Strategy, as well as construction, complementing the Sector Plans published in 2025.

Further Jobs Plans for Digital and Technologies and Defence are due to be published later this week, the government said.