What is the ECITB Workforce Census?
The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) conducts a Census every three years to provide an up-to-date and detailed snapshot of the engineering construction industry (ECI) and its current workforce.
The ECITB Workforce Census is our most accurate and comprehensive database, telling us how many people work in each sector, in which occupations and where.
The ECITB launched its first Workforce Census in 2021. Since then, the ECITB and the industry have used this data to gain a more refined understanding of workforce trends, training needs and skills transferability potential.
In 2024, for the second iteration of the Workforce Census, employers were asked to fill out an online survey in May or June, with the questionnaire also including questions on expected workforce growth, business opportunities by sector and hiring challenges.
The ECITB published the overarching findings, which were anonymised and aggregated, in January 2025.
Additional reports will be published in due course that provide a more granular breakdown of the data by sector and geography.
ECITB Workforce Census 2024
The ECITB Workforce Census has been conducted in 2021 and 2024.
The 2024 Census achieved a record response rate, up from 54% of the workforce covered to 78.8%.
Data was collected on 74,609 workers in the industry, up from 45,351 in 2021.
The workforce was spread over more than 1,621 locations and 162 establishments in 2024.
Industry anticipates a workforce growth of 11.7% through 2027, while only 1.1% of employers expect a decrease in headcount.
The share of workers over 60 increased to 14.7%, up from 11.6%, but the number of workers under 30 increased to 16.8%.
71% of employers reported experiencing challenges in hiring workers, up from 53% in 2021.
The 2024 survey gathered data on 11,000 different job roles, which were consolidated into ten broad categories.
Why is the Census important to industry?
“Collecting this type of detailed data gives not only the ECITB, but all our stakeholders, critical insights into the make-up and future direction of our industry and allows for evidence-based, targeted initiatives and interventions.
“This work supports our Leading Industry Learning Strategy, which sets out our ambition to have the strong evidence base needed to address current skills shortages appropriately and prepare for future change.
“Taking part in the Census ensures that ECI companies and their sector footprint are accurately represented in our labour market intelligence work.
“It is the database we use to support discussions and collaborations with government, industrial clusters, training bodies, local enterprise partnerships and other organisations, and helps stakeholders understand the industry to better inform decision-making.”
Andrew Hockey
ECITB Chief Executive
ECITB Labour Forecasting Tool
Data from the Workforce Census directly feeds into our Labour Forecasting Tool (LFT), which was launched in November 2023.
The LFT predicts trends and potential future demand for workers. It is used by industry stakeholders to better understand the challenges ahead, help define priorities and inform decision-making.
Industry input allows us to further refine the LFT for the benefit of the ECI and ensure that changes in the industry are taken into account to provide robust workforce forecast estimates.
How the Workforce Census data has been used
The 2021 ECITB Census supported discussions and collaborations with industrial clusters, training bodies, local enterprise partnerships in England, regional skills partnerships in Wales, the Scottish government, and other organisations such as CITB, ECIA, BCECA, and OEUK.
Here are some examples of studies that have drawn on the ECITB’s Census data:
- Humber Industrial Cluster Plan: Skills analysis & opportunities: This report identifies likely demand for skilled labour and presents recommendations.
- The labour market of tomorrow – jobs, skills, and the transition to a green economy: Report by Data Cymru on behalf of the four Regional Skills Partnerships in Wales.
- Green Jobs Delivery Group: The government, industry, skills and education sector, local government and other key stakeholders are working together to produce a Green Jobs Plan.
- House of Commons report – Delivering nuclear power: This examines how to achieve the ambitions for nuclear energy set out in the Energy Security Strategy.
- National Infrastructure and Construction Pipeline 2023: The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s assessment of infrastructure investment over the next decade.
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