Budget 2026 will require apprentices to make up at least 3% of the workforce on all large government construction and infrastructure projects, adding a new employment condition to the delivery of major public work.
The requirement sits alongside wider procurement changes announced in the Budget published by HM Treasury. A new National Procurement Policy Statement is due in March 2027, while the Government will publish a new definition of a "UK supplier" by January 2027 and increase tracking of suppliers and subcontractors through public supply chains.
The measures form part of the construction package examined in LCM's analysis of Budget 2026, which also covers housing, infrastructure investment, planning, data centres and the OBR's revised housing forecast.
A traffic marshal training a younger apprentice on a UK construction site. Budget 2026 will require apprentices to make up at least 3% of workforces on large government construction and infrastructure projects. Illustration: London Construction Magazine.
Apprentices must make up at least 3% of project workforces
The detailed Budget policy states that at least 3% of the workforces of all large government construction and infrastructure projects will have to be apprentices. The requirement moves apprenticeships directly into the delivery conditions attached to major public projects.
The Budget does not set out a single headcount because the number of apprentices will depend on the workforce employed on each project. A scheme carrying 1,000 workers at a given point would need at least 30 apprentices to meet a 3% workforce requirement, although detailed implementation rules will determine how compliance is measured across changing project teams and programmes.
The policy arrives as construction is already trying to increase recruitment. The Government's Construction Jobs Plan, published on 19 October, sets an industry ambition of 100,000 job opportunities a year by the end of this Parliament. Earlier LCM analysis of construction workforce demand reported CITB's estimate that the industry will need around 206,000 additional workers between 2026 and 2030.
£100m expands local apprenticeship support
Budget 2026 also provides £100m across 2027-28 and 2028-29 to expand Mayoral Apprenticeship Brokerage Pilots from seven to 14 Mayoral Strategic Authorities in England. The programme is intended to help young people enter apprenticeships and support employers, particularly SMEs, in creating places.
That puts two sides of the system into the same Budget: large government projects will carry the 3% workforce requirement, while local apprenticeship services receive funding intended to increase the number of people and employers available to fill those places.
Public procurement will track UK suppliers
The skills requirement is part of a wider change to government purchasing. The new National Procurement Policy Statement, due to be laid in Parliament in March 2027, will put high-quality jobs, fair pay and skills opportunities among the priorities for public procurement.
The Government will also publish a new definition of a "UK supplier" by January 2027. Its stated purpose is to identify UK businesses more accurately and improve tracking of suppliers and subcontractors across public supply chains, replacing definitions that can count companies with little more than a UK postal presence as domestic suppliers.
Central government procurement guidance is also being changed so bidders can be assessed on the jobs they create, their response to local skills shortages and the routes they provide for young people into employment. Procurement policy will be used in strategic markets including steel and energy infrastructure as well as construction-related supply chains.
Contractors will need workforce capacity as well as training places
For main contractors, a project-level percentage creates a delivery requirement beyond funding courses or making general training commitments. Apprentices need placements, supervision and enough live work to complete the occupational requirements of their programme.
The pressure will be greatest where specialist packages already compete for experienced labour. An apprentice entering a trade or technical role also requires competent workers around them, so increasing apprentice numbers can increase the immediate supervisory demand on the same workforce the industry is trying to expand.
The next procurement milestone is January 2027, when the Government says it will publish its new UK-supplier definition. The replacement National Procurement Policy Statement is due to follow in March.
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