New insights from B&Q reveal Gen Z tradespeople see a career in trade as a savvy business move. Over a third (39%) of young tradespeople chose the profession for its good career opportunities – as well as it being a platform to channel entrepreneurial spirit with 30% seeing it as an opportunity to start their own business (30%).
However, whilst 17% of Gen Z are in trade to some extent, even as a ‘side hustle’, fewer young people are coming into the workforce and opportunities to enter the trade are potentially reduced due to a lack of SME apprenticeship options.
Data reveals 44% of Gen Z tradespeople hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent higher education qualification – highlighting a career in trade to be an ambitious and rewarding one for university graduates. This figure compares to only 12% of Boomers in the trade sector who possess a degree – a generation who typically went through the apprenticeship route to entry.
Yet, despite positive signs, there is still some way to go to ensure the trade industry is future-proofed and the apparent 47% of young people who reportedly have not considered working in the trade, are made aware of its exciting prospects.
Alongside university education as a route to the industry, more emphasis must be placed on improving apprenticeships. The results found the disappearance of many apprenticeship positions is undoubtedly hindering new recruitment and training, with just over half of tradespeople (52%) reporting it’s one of the biggest challenges to the industry.
B&Q is working to combat this by investing in initiatives to help support smaller businesses recruit and train trade apprentices, since the beginning of 2025/26 B&Q has donated over £1 million through the ‘Transfer to Transform’ scheme. In addition to this, B&Q has worked alongside Trade Point UK to launch ‘Do the Lift Thing’ – a campaign that showcases women trade professionals and provides a call to action for more girls and women to choose a trade profession.
The path for women entering the trades is even more challenging. With only 57% of respondents believing that the trade is welcoming towards them, there is a clear gap needing to be addressed. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of tradespeople back initiatives to improve this gap, such as a ‘return to work’ scheme specifically designed to support female participation in the sector.
John Morgan, director TradePoint UK, says: “A career in trade is one filled with immense opportunity and purpose – and one that could take you all over the world! With three teenage children myself, I always encourage them to consider the trades as a solid and rewarding path against a background of uncertainty in the job market.
Whilst it’s very encouraging to see the pattern of university graduates joining the trade industry, we must also focus on the fact that we need more people to enter the trade and to provide opportunities including apprenticeships for those who haven’t chosen that route. Industry players and Government must act to evolve and expand the apprenticeship offerings available – in order to improve accessibility to secure a skilled workforce for the future.
Separate research undertaken by Kingfisher *, found that by 2030, the UK needs at least 250k more tradespeople, a figure calculated before the increased plans for housebuilding under the new government. This workforce challenge also has implications for other parts of the economy, such as the roll out of green energy improvements to domestic property.
77% of trades see the lack of skilled labour as critical to their business thriving and they consistently identify apprenticeships as the solution to this problem. However, 9 in 10 tradespeople say that apprentices are vital to the future of the industry, but only 18% have hired one.
