Construction and the Milburn report: what employers need to know

A million young people out of work. An industry 206,000 people short.

Alan Milburn's final report on young people and work is due this month. He has said it will read like "a manifesto of change", not a list of tweaks. Before it lands, here is what construction employers need to know: the numbers, what the report could change, and five questions every board should be able to answer.

The numbers

• 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training between April and June 2026. That is roughly one in eight.
• 206,000 extra construction workers are needed by 2030, according to the CITB. That is about 41,200 every year.
• 35% of the construction workforce is aged 50 or over. The people who would train the next generation are heading for the door.
• £1 to £25. For every £1 the government spends helping young people into work, it spends about £25 on their benefits.
• Over 40% is how far apprenticeship starts for young people have fallen, according to Milburn's interim report.
• 7 in 100 construction teaching posts in further education are unfilled, twice the FE average.

On paper, that is the easiest match in the economy. In practice, the two sides barely meet.

What Milburn has found so far

His interim report in May described a "catastrophic system failure". When he spoke to employers, including in construction, he found they were not hostile to young people. "Many are desperate to hire them."

He also heard from young people who had stepped back from work because trying it put their benefits at risk. For them, a bad first month in a job is a big gamble.

Where the report stands

• December 2025: the review is launched by the Department for Work and Pensions, led by Alan Milburn.
• May 2026: the interim report is published.
• November 2026: the final report is expected, held back until after the 28 October Budget.

Nothing is confirmed until it is published. What follows is what Milburn has said and what the press has reported.

Three ideas that could change things on site

1. Move money from benefits into work. Milburn says the balance has swung too far towards income support. On site, that means more funded support behind each young recruit, and employers who are ready to host and supervise will get it first.

2. A separate system for under-25s. The Financial Times has reported that it could replace Universal Credit, and possibly PIP, for young people, with less cash and more intensive health and job support. This is not confirmed. If it happens, young people will be expected to take up placements, and that only works if there are placements to take.

3. Start much earlier. Andy Burnham has pledged technical education from age 14, and Milburn wants to spot young people at risk while they are still at primary school. School engagement becomes your pipeline, not a box to tick. The firms in the classroom at 14 are the ones who hire at 18.

Already announced: the Construction Jobs Plan

The government published its Construction Jobs Plan in October:

• 40,000 placements a year for learners aged 16 and over
• 10,000 new foundation apprenticeships
• £2,000 for non-levy employers hiring an apprentice aged 16 to 24
• 10 Construction Technical Excellence Colleges

Put that next to the direction of the Milburn report and the message is clear. The money and the expectation are moving towards employers who can actually take people on.

The catch

Every placement needs an employer who wants it to work. The National Federation of Builders points out that SMEs train around 8 in 10 of the industry's apprentices, and has warned that learners on the new placements may struggle to find employers to take them.

In most of the leadership briefs I take on in retained search, the spec covers delivery, margin, safety and client relationships. It rarely says who is accountable for bringing the next generation through. Everyone thinks it matters. Nobody is measured on it.

Five questions for the board

1. Who owns early careers, by name? Not "HR". Not "the grad scheme". A person on the leadership team whose job depends on it.

2. How many placements could you host next year, and who supervises them? The government has promised 40,000 construction placements a year. Each one needs a site that says yes.

3. Are your site managers measured on bringing people through? If programme and margin are the only scorecard, a young starter is a cost. Measure it, or it will not happen.

4. Do your entry routes ask for qualifications the job does not need? Milburn found a system built around qualifications rather than where people end up. Check whether your job adverts repeat that mistake.

5. What happens to a young starter after a bad first month? For a young person whose benefits are on the line, walking away is often the safer choice. What your site does in week four decides whether they stay.

Why this matters to me

I started on site as a trainee QS in 1990. What got me through those first months was not a scheme or a qualification. It was two people who decided I was worth the time: Derek Taylor, the works manager, and Dev, my commercial lead.

Policy can fund the placement. It can pay the hiring incentive. It can build the college. It cannot make someone on site decide a 19 year old is worth the time. That part is still on us.

I will update this piece the day the final report is published.

What to do next

• Leading a construction business? If you would like a second opinion on how your leadership team measures up on this, book 15 minutes with me. No pitch.
• Early in your career, or know someone who is? Start at Setting Out, with the Early Careers Pathway and a mentor a few rungs ahead.
• Still at school or college? Get into construction is the place to start.

Sources

• ONS figures via ITV News, 19 October 2026: 981,000 young people not in education, employment or training, April to June 2026
• CITB Construction Workforce Outlook 2026 to 2030, via Building: 206,000 extra workers by 2030
• Construction Jobs Plan, via PBC Today, 22 October 2026: 35.1% of workers aged 50 or over, teaching vacancies, placements, foundation apprenticeships, the £2,000 payment, Technical Excellence Colleges
• CIC, 19 October 2026: confirms the 40,000 placements and up to 10,000 foundation apprenticeships
• Young People and Work: interim report, GOV.UK: "Many are desperate to hire them", the fall in apprenticeship starts, young people stepping back from work
• Youth Employment UK summary of the interim report: the £1 to £25 comparison
• PBC Today, 8 June 2026: the NFB on SMEs training 8 in 10 apprentices
• Fraser Nelson interview with Alan Milburn, 28 September 2026: "a manifesto of change"
• Brit Brief, 21 October 2026, citing the Financial Times: a separate system for young people