Wales’ first roofing apprenticeship: skills pipeline and demand outlook to 2029
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell

First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Wales has launched its first dedicated roofing, slating and tiling apprenticeship, delivered jointly by CITB, the National Construction College, Bridgend College and the National Federation of Roofing Contractors, with an initial cohort of nine apprentices starting in South Wales next month and a second intake planned for September. Training will combine classroom teaching with outdoor practical instruction led by a CITB roofing tutor, targeting both public and private sector demand. CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook projects the UK will need 630 additional roofers by 2029, including at least 50 in Wales, within a wider requirement for 47,000 extra construction workers annually.
Technical Brief
- Delivery is a four-way collaboration between CITB, National Construction College, Bridgend College and NFRC.
- CITB has spent three years co-developing the programme with industry and Bridgend College.
- Provision explicitly targets roofing skills gaps across both public-sector and private-sector workloads in Wales.
- Apprentices will receive a mix of both classroom and outdoor, practical training from a CITB roofing tutor.
- CITB engagement director for Wales, Julia Stevens, frames the scheme as addressing a known regional skills deficit.
- Construction Workforce Outlook projects Wales needs 1,720 additional construction workers per year to 2029.
- Within that forecast, 630 extra roofers UK-wide are required by 2029, including at least 50 in Wales.
Our Take
CITB’s role in this Welsh roofing apprenticeship sits against a backdrop of rising construction activity elsewhere in the UK, with our coverage showing Northern Ireland output up strongly in 2025 and already straining local skills capacity.
The forecast need for at least 50 additional roofers in Wales by 2029 is modest in absolute terms but significant relative to regional college capacity, suggesting Bridgend College and NFRC will likely have to scale cohorts beyond the initial nine apprentices or rely on upskilling existing trades.
CITB’s recent move to cut some training grants from January 2026, after a 36% rise in demand, implies that sustained funding for specialist routes like roof slating and tiling may increasingly depend on direct employer buy-in and NFRC support rather than central grant mechanisms.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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