The social media ban for young people threatens a vital way of discovering construction careers

This trend is not unique to construction. Research conducted by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry found that more than one in three young people have used social media to inform a career or job decision.

Meanwhile, a global survey by DeWalt and WorldSkills International found that 44% of young trade professionals said social media had played a role in inspiring their career choice.

These findings reflect a broader reality: for many young people, careers advice no longer comes solely from careers fairs, school advisors or family connections. It increasingly comes from watching people online doing jobs they can relate to. An apprentice documenting a day on site, or a site manager showcasing a project, can often make a career feel more tangible than any leaflet or careers presentation.

“CIOB’s research found that 45% of young people felt construction careers had not been covered in the careers advice they received during education”

This matters because construction has historically struggled to reach young people through traditional channels. CIOB’s research found that 45% of young people felt construction careers had not been covered in the careers advice they received during education, while 44% of parents reported feeling under-informed about modern career options.

We often talk about skills shortages as though they begin when someone leaves school. In reality, they begin much earlier: when a young person never hears about a profession, when parents only have outdated perceptions of the industry, and when construction simply is not part of the conversation.

Nowhere is this more relevant than housing. The government has rightly placed housing delivery at the centre of its growth agenda. Whether the ambition is building 1.5 million homes, improving existing housing stock, decarbonising homes or tackling the longstanding repairs backlog, none of these objectives can be achieved without a skilled workforce.

Housing associations and local authorities are already competing for skilled workers in retrofit, maintenance, repairs, building safety and new build development, while also managing ageing stock, responding to new regulations and improving homes for residents.

Yet construction continues to face a demographic challenge. A significant proportion of the workforce is approaching retirement age, while the pipeline of new entrants remains insufficient to meet future demand. The industry is effectively engaged in a race between recruitment and retirement.

If fewer young people are exposed to construction careers during their formative years, the consequences may not be immediate. However, they will be felt years down the line when employers struggle to recruit apprentices, trainees and skilled workers needed to maintain and improve the nation’s housing stock.

“Industry, employers, professional bodies and education providers need to work together to create engaging, accurate and accessible content that reflects the breadth of opportunities available across the built environment sector”

Social media is not a complete solution to construction’s recruitment challenges, and there are legitimate questions about how platforms shape what young people see. While evidence suggests social media influences career aspirations, it remains unclear whether platform algorithms provide equal exposure to all sectors and professions, or whether some careers naturally attract greater visibility than others.

This raises an important challenge for both industry and policymakers. If social media restrictions are introduced, what replaces the role social media currently plays in career discovery?

Government will need to consider how any resulting gap in careers awareness is filled, through stronger careers services, greater employer engagement in schools, targeted campaigns for sectors facing skills shortages, and more direct engagement with parents and guardians.

Equally, if social media remains a route through which young people engage with careers information, the construction sector must become more intentional about how it uses it. We cannot simply assume young people will discover construction careers on their own. 

Industry, employers, professional bodies and education providers need to work together to create engaging, accurate and accessible content that reflects the breadth of opportunities available across the built environment sector.

Ultimately, our concern is not whether social media is good or bad. It is whether we fully understand the role it has come to play in shaping career aspirations.

Because if social media has become one of the ways young people discover construction careers, and we choose to restrict access to it, then we need to think carefully about what comes next.

At a time when the country is seeking to build more homes, improve existing ones and address critical skills shortages, few sectors have a greater stake in getting that answer right than housing.

Miruna Leitoiu, policy and public affairs officer, Chartered Institute of Building