Market Report
Electrical apprenticeship shortfall of nearly 10,000, research finds
While job demand surges across the electrical sector, the apprenticeship system that should be feeding these trades is failing to deliver, according to new data.
T
he ‘Apprenticeship Gap Report’ found that the electrical trade faces the most severe deficit across all sectors analysed, with a 227:1 ratio representing a gap of just over 9,600 unfilled positions. The research, created by power tool accessories specialist Dart Tool Group, analysed data from the Department for Education, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) and job board site Reed across six UK trade sectors, revealing where the skills crisis is most severe, why training pathways are under strain and what strategic actions employers can take to strengthen their future workforce. Across all trades analysed, there are just 809 apprenticeship openings to fill over 86,000 current job vacancies, a ratio of 106 jobs competing for every single apprenticeship place.
Top Electrical Apprenticeships, by Deficit DEFICIT
TRADE
Electrical Building Services Engineering
Electrical Engineer
Installation & Maintenance Electrician
Electrician
Job openings per com- pleter
281 256 77 63 APPRENTICESHIPS 2024-2025 Starts
Year-on- Year %
difference 0% -33.3% -10.7% -16.7% 35.3% 0% -10.5% Low 26% 50% 39% Low
Starts 24/25 v 21/22
Completion Rate
smaller deficit at 77:1, but starts have declined year-on-year by 11% and completion rates for the 2024/2025 intake remain modest at 39%. While broadly defined Electrician positions have fewer jobs per apprentice opening (63:1), starts overall have dropped 16% year-on-year, coupled with persistently low completion rates. Combined, this indicates the trade is persistently facing limited interest and uptake, which may threaten the skilled pipeline. This comes as the UK’s industrial and commercial electricity demand is forecast to rise by around 10% between 2024 and 2030, yet the electrical workforce has already shrunk by 26% since 2018 - with projections indicating a further fall of up to 32% by 2038.
Hardest hit within the electrical sector are in Electrical Building Services, with 281 job openings for every one apprentice that qualifies. Although apprenticeship starts have grown 35% since 2021/2022, low completion rates of just 26% in the past year mean the surge in interest has not yet converted into the skilled workforce needed, leaving a persistent gap
24 | electrical wholesalerFebruary 2026 between demand and supply.
A similar pattern follows Electrical Engineering roles, which had 256 vacancies per apprentice completer, and starts declining year-on-year by 33%. However, completion rates are somewhat higher, with 50% of apprentices completing their programmes in the last year.
Installation & Maintenance Electricians face a
Fewer than a third of apprentices complete their programmes, suggesting an inefficient and costly training pipeline. Within the electrical industry, the report’s data shows that less than two in five (38%) apprentices completed their programmes on average in 2024/2025, a notable drop from the 53% that completed the previous year. However, the exceptionally high completion rate in 2022/2023 for the electrical sector, likely driven by rising demand to support the Net Zero transition, shows that targeted demand can boost retention.
ewnews.co.uk
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