The short answer
Construction apprenticeships include trades like bricklaying, carpentry and plumbing, plus professional routes like quantity surveying, civil engineering and site management, from Level 2 to degree level. Trade routes often need few or no GCSEs; degree routes usually ask for A levels or a Level 3. Many are tied to sites, so check where you'd work and how you'd get there.
Key figures
- Apprenticeship disciplines Balfour Beatty lists, from electrician to quantity surveying
- 13
- Source: Balfour Beatty (opens in a new tab)
- Length of Kier's degree apprenticeships, with tuition and accommodation fees covered
- 4–5 years
- Source: Kier (opens in a new tab)
- Barratt Redrow's Level 2 trade apprenticeship in England and Wales (4 years in Scotland)
- 18 months
- Source: Barratt Redrow (opens in a new tab)
- Laing O'Rourke's typical minimum for trade apprenticeships, or six months' construction experience
- 3 GCSEs
- Source: Laing O'Rourke (opens in a new tab)
Construction is one of the biggest areas for apprenticeships, and it’s much wider than people think. Alongside the trades, there are office-based and professional routes that can lead all the way to chartered status.
Two kinds of construction apprenticeship
| Trade | Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | Bricklayer, site carpenter, plumber, electrician | Quantity surveyor, civil engineer, site manager, estimator |
| Typical levels | 2 and 3 | 3 to 6 |
| Typical entry | Few or no GCSEs | GCSEs, then A levels or a Level 3 for degree routes |
| Where | On site, plus college | Site and office, plus college or university |
What employers offer
| Employer | What we know |
|---|---|
| Balfour Beatty | 4 levels and 13 disciplines, about 2 to 5 years |
| Kier | Level 2 to degree, permanent contracts, degree routes 4–5 years with fees covered |
| Barratt Redrow | Bricklaying and carpentry, 18 months in England and Wales, 4 years in Scotland |
| Laing O’Rourke | Levels 2 to 6; trade routes 2–4 years |
| Morgan Sindall | Degree apprenticeships with Oxford Brookes University |
| Arup | Engineering and design apprenticeships across 18 UK offices |
| National Highways | Levels 3 to 6, including engineering and construction |
What to compare
Entry requirements
Trade routes are often the most open. Barratt Redrow says GCSEs are ideal but not essential, and Laing O’Rourke accepts six months’ construction experience instead of 3 GCSEs. Degree routes are stricter: Kier’s civil engineering degree apprenticeship wants 96 UCAS points including maths or physics.
Pay
Many construction employers don’t publish apprentice pay. Barratt Redrow says its trade apprentices get the industry’s agreed BATJIC rates (SBATC in Scotland). Ask at interview.
Where you’d work
Construction jobs move between sites. Check how far you’d travel and whether the employer helps with it. Barratt Redrow, for example, needs you within 45 minutes of the site by public transport.
Contract
Kier puts every apprentice on a permanent contract. Others may not, so ask.
Next steps
Compare all the employers on our construction and infrastructure page. If engineering appeals more, see our guide to researching engineering apprenticeships.
Sources and review
Last reviewed . Details can change after this date, so check the official source before you rely on them.
- Construction and building apprenticeships (opens in a new tab)
- Apprentices (opens in a new tab)
- Apprenticeships (opens in a new tab)
- Trade Apprenticeship (opens in a new tab)
- Trade and technical apprenticeships (opens in a new tab)
- Building a better future through apprenticeships with Oxford Brookes University (opens in a new tab)