According to steelwork manufacturer Tadweld, the growing demand for technical careers is being met with a shrinking number of opportunities in manufacturing. Recent figures reported by the BBC show applications for degree apprenticeships through the Government’s central platform have risen from 8,100 to 21,800 in just three years, while available positions have almost halved from 7,300 to 3,700.

Tadweld says its September 2026 Level 3 engineering apprenticeship intake is set to be its lowest in a decade, reflecting a wider concern that rising employment costs are making it increasingly difficult for SMEs to provide the hands-on training needed to build Britain’s future skilled workforce.

Drawing on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Gov.uk, Indeed and Total Jobs, Tadweld’s original analysis found that across its top 20 trade roles, the average salary was £38,925, broadly in line with the UK median annual salary of £39,039 for full-time employees.

Electricians and welders were among the strongest-performing trades, alongside HVAC engineers, lift technicians and renewable energy installers.

Tadweld says there is a growing disconnect between the attractiveness of these careers and the number of apprenticeship places being made available to enter them. The company believes the growing competition for apprenticeships demonstrates that demand for vocational and technical education is not the problem.

Chris Houston, Managing Director at Tadweld says: “The real problem is whether employers – particularly SMEs – can afford to provide the number of apprenticeship places industry needs. At Tadweld, the cost of taking on an apprentice has risen significantly in just a few years. The apprentice minimum wage has increased from £6 an hour in 2023 to £7.50 in 2024 and £10 in 2025, with the minimum wage for under-18s rising again to £10.85 an hour in April 2026.

“We absolutely support fair pay for young workers. But an apprentice is different from a fully trained employee. They are spending a significant proportion of their time in structured training and are still developing the practical skills and experience they need to become fully productive.

“Yet businesses are paying for that employment throughout the apprenticeship, while also carrying the additional costs of supervision, training, equipment, college attendance and developing someone from the ground up.

“For a large company, those costs may be easier to absorb. For SMEs like us, it determines how many apprentices we can actually afford to take on.

“That is the contradiction we are now facing: Britain desperately needs more skilled engineers and welders, young people want to enter these careers, but the rising cost of employing and training an apprentice means businesses like ours are having to reduce the number of opportunities we can offer.”

The UK is expected to need around 35,000 new welders over the next five years, yet only 231 welding apprentices were trained across the country in 2024.

The company believes that without sufficient Level 3 apprenticeship opportunities, the UK risks creating a widening gap between the number of people who want to pursue high-value technical careers and the number of skilled workers the industry is able to train.

For more information and Tadweld’s original research into the UK’s highest-paying trades, visit: https://tadweld.co.uk/break-the-degree-debt-cycle-lead-the-uks-39k-trade-revolution/

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