A new a workforce model which aims to retain older construction professionals has been introduced in a report from Age Irrelevance in collaboration with ProAge.
The report, titled Rebuilding the UK’s Construction Workforce, was authored by Kay Allen and Fiona Lennox. The initiative, ConstructED, aims to enable older construction workers to transition into teaching, mentoring and assessor roles.
According to a statement, the model is expected to strengthen apprenticeships and stabilise training quality. It is being developed by Mike Mansfield at ProAge.
The paper warned that construction is losing people faster than it can replace them. Since 2019, it revealed that the sector has shrunk by around 14%, while nearly half of apprentices fail to complete training. At the same time, one in three construction workers are now over 50, with a wave of the current workforce approaching state pension age. Further education colleges face acute lecturer shortages.
The model has proposed funded pathways that allow experienced tradespeople to gain teaching qualifications while still working. The report cited that if 10% of the 625,000 workers due to retire over the next 17 years remained economically active through training roles, the Treasury could benefit from over £2bn in fiscal value in the next decade.
Charles Allen, Lord Allen of Kensington CBE, said: “The construction sector plays a vital role in the economic and social life of the UK. Delivering the homes, infrastructure and services the country needs depends not only on investment and innovation, but on having the right skills, experience and capability across the workforce.”
Kay Allen, campaign director of Age Irrelevance, added: “The construction skills crisis is not just about attracting young people. It is about valuing experience as infrastructure. When knowledge leaves unmanaged, productivity falls and training weakens. We already have the expertise we need – we simply haven’t designed a system to keep it in circulation.”
Fiona Lennox, strategy director, said: “This is a workforce longevity issue. Industries built around a binary entry and exit model are no longer keeping pace with demographic reality. ConstructED offers a blueprint for multi-stage careers where contribution evolves rather than ends. That is how modern economies stay competitive.”
Mike Mansfield, CEO of ProAge, added: “To tackle the shortage of further education lecturers in the construction sector, we need to recognise the untapped potential of experienced older workers. By reskilling seasoned professionals to support new apprenticeships, we can not only address teaching gaps but also unlock powerful knowledge transfer – ensuring that the next generation benefits from decades of real-world expertise.”
Age Irrelevance is now inviting employers, colleges and policymakers to collaborate on pilots and become Age Irrelevance Changemakers, helping scale the ConstructED model nationally.
