School leavers are giving the construction sector a skills boost by choosing it over other areas, according to an unpublished government report.

The study by Connexions, which is sponsored by the Department of Education and Skills, found that 13% of school leavers were choosing the construction industry.

This figure is almost 4% higher than sales, which attracted 9.3% of last year’s 79,874 school leavers. Hairdressing and beauty scooped 8.3%, whilst 6.2% sought clerical and secretarial skills.

Paul Sykes, spokesman for CITB-ConstructionSkills, explained how this surge in construction trainees would help both the UK economy and its skills pool.

“Year on year we have seen an increase in apprenticeship starters and the news from this report seems to suggest that an increase in new recruits, particularly in the 16-19 group, is a step forward in ensuring we are meeting demand for an expanding industry.”