The UK is heading towards a shortfall of around 250,000 skilled tradespeople by 2030, amid mounting evidence that the current apprenticeship system is failing to attract enough new entrants into essential sectors such as plumbing, carpentry, and electrical work, according to a new report by Screwfix.
Screwfix chief executive John Mewett warned that the government’s apprenticeship levy “doesn’t work for small businesses,” leaving sole traders—who make up a large share of the country’s skilled workforce—unable to take on apprentices due to administrative burdens and funding gaps.
According to the retailer’s survey, only 2% of sole traders hired an apprentice in the past year. With one in four tradespeople expected to retire within five years, the data points to an impending skills crisis that could hamper progress in housing, infrastructure, and other key sectors of the economy.
“A lot of the tradespeople who can train apprentices are sole traders,” said Mewett. “The burden of taking on an apprentice is significant, with the paperwork, responsibility, and lack of funding that comes with it. The system just isn’t working for small businesses.”
Screwfix has sought to address the issue by partnering with a flexi-job apprenticeship agency, helping fund and administer 50 apprenticeships since 2022. However, Mewett noted that these efforts rely on limited levy funds—the 0.5% tax on payrolls over £3 million paid by large employers.
He urged ministers to unlock billions in unused levy funds to support small businesses, citing government data showing that more than £3.3 billion in apprenticeship levy money has gone unspent and been reclaimed by the Treasury since 2019.
“The government has billions of unspent levy funds that could be redeployed to help take some of the burden away from tradespeople who do want to train,” Mewett said.
Despite the barriers, many tradespeople remain supportive of apprenticeships. The report found that 64% of those who had taken on an apprentice would do so again, though nearly half received no government funding for training costs.
Mewett welcomed the Labour government’s recent decision to replace its university participation target with a broader goal encompassing apprenticeships and technical education but said significant reforms were still needed.
“If you go to university, there’s a clear path with loans and support,” he said. “If you go into an apprenticeship, it’s much more challenging. There are no loans for tools or financial help to get started. The government needs to make that path more structured—just like it is for higher education.”
The Construction Industry Training Board estimates the construction sector alone will need to recruit an additional 250,000 workers by 2028 to meet national housing and infrastructure goals. Experts warn that without urgent reform to the apprenticeship levy and greater incentives for small firms, the UK risks deepening its skills gap as more tradespeople retire.
“The demand from young people to enter trades is there,” Mewett added. “The challenge isn’t appetite—it’s access. Fix that, and we can close the skills gap.”
