The Numbers
The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) supported approximately 13,000 active learners through 2025, working with 10,678 employers across the construction sector. Five thousand learners completed their training during the year — adding to the 55,000-plus qualified tradespeople BCITO has delivered over 34 years of operation. The 2025 figure represents a reduction from the approximately 20,000 learners BCITO was supporting at the height of the post-pandemic construction boom.
The decline reflects the broader slowdown in residential construction from 2023 onwards. Employers taking on fewer projects have taken on fewer apprentices. That is an understandable response to commercial pressure — but it has implications for workforce availability when the market turns.
Government Financial Support
The government continues to provide $500 per month in financial support to employers for new apprentices during the first year of training. This subsidy is specifically designed to reduce the cost barrier of taking on learners who, in the early stages of their apprenticeship, are not yet producing at the level of an experienced tradesperson. Employers who have not accessed this support should confirm their eligibility through BCITO — it applies to new apprenticeship arrangements, not existing programmes.
Some regions are showing improvement in training volume despite the overall national picture. Canterbury in particular has maintained higher apprenticeship uptake through the downturn, reflecting the combination of earthquake remediation work and a construction culture with strong employer investment in workforce development.
A Return to Industry Governance
BCITO is returning to industry ownership and governance in early 2026 — a transition that reflects the sector’s commitment to maintaining control over its own workforce development pathway. BCITO has confirmed that normal training operations will continue without interruption through the transition. The governance change is administrative rather than operational, but it signals a strengthening of industry ownership over the apprenticeship system that has produced the sector’s qualified workforce for more than three decades.
The Case for Maintaining Investment Now
BCITO’s advice to employers is direct: the time to invest in apprenticeship training is during the downturn, not after the recovery has arrived. Firms that maintain their training programmes through a soft period will have qualified workers ready when demand picks up. Firms that cut training to reduce costs will face recruitment competition for experienced workers at exactly the moment when everyone else is also trying to hire. The three-year apprenticeship timeline means the decision to take on a new learner today is a decision about workforce capacity in 2028 — a year when construction activity is broadly expected to be significantly higher than it is now.
