June 2026
Extending construction careers through mentoring: How VIY turns experience into future skills
A ProAge Case Study
An employer case study in retaining knowledge, strengthening skills and creating social value.
The construction sector is facing a workforce challenge that cannot be solved by recruitment alone. Demand is rising, the workforce is ageing, and the industry risks losing experienced workers faster than it can replace them.
The problem in numbers
48,000 workers needed per year to meet demand
UK Construction Industry Picture 2026
24% of workforce over 55 up from 13% in 2000
UK Construction Industry Picture 2026
47% dropout rate in construction apprenticeships
Construction Apprenticeship Achievement Rate Crisis
The message for employers is clear: construction cannot close the skills gap by focusing only on new entrants. It must also retain and redeploy the experience already in the sector.
For many experienced tradespeople, the issue is not that they no longer want to contribute. It is that full-time, physically demanding site work can become harder to sustain, particularly where workers are managing musculoskeletal conditions, pain, fatigue or injury. This is not only an age issue: younger workers with MSK conditions can also find physical work difficult to maintain.
Without realistic alternatives, experienced workers can reach a cliff-edge moment where they leave the sector altogether. When that happens, employers lose much more than labour capacity. They lose people who understand standards, safety, sequencing, problem-solving, client expectations and the informal coaching that helps less experienced workers learn.
"Without realistic alternatives, experienced workers can reach a cliff-edge moment where they leave the sector altogether."
The solution: turn experienced workers into mentors
Volunteer It Yourself, known as VIY, offers a practical example of how this loss can be avoided. VIY is a social enterprise that brings together young people, community organisations and experienced tradespeople to refurbish local spaces. Young people gain practical trade skills and employability experience by working on real projects. Experienced tradespeople act as mentors, helping them learn safely, build confidence and understand what working in construction can feel like.
Ed Sellwood, COO and co-founder of VIY, describes the model simply: young people “roll their sleeves up” to help fix and transform community buildings, while being mentored by professional tradespeople. Many of those mentors are over 50. Some have spent 40 or 45 years in the trade. That depth of experience is not treated as something nearing the end of its usefulness. It is the engine of the model.
Since VIY began in 2011, it has delivered more than 1,000 community refurbishment projects and worked with around 17,000 young people. This gives the case study important scale evidence: VIY is not a small one-off pilot, but a tested model that has supported thousands of young people through practical, community-based learning.
"That depth of experience is not treated as something nearing the end of its usefulness. It is the engine of the model."
Eastmoors Youth Centre, Cardiff
At our VIY project supporting Eastmoors Youth Centre in Cardiff, funded by Morgan Sindall, VIY worked with 19 local NEET and at risk young people to transform an unused garage into a fully equipped recording studio for the community. Guided by VIY Trade Mentors, learners gained hands-on experience in carpentry, painting and decorating, and workplace conduct while helping to build features such as a purpose-built recording booth, mixing booth, chill-out area and new internal fit-out. 17 young people gained at least one City & Guilds accreditation, building confidence through real-world project delivery.
Our mentors played a central role, breaking tasks down, modelling safe practice and supporting young people as they contributed to a creative space designed to give local young people a safe outlet to explore music and media. The new studio has already strengthened community pride and created opportunities for collaboration with local artists and volunteers.
One learner, Elliot, made exceptional progress. Having previously disengaged from education after being excluded from school, he wasn’t sure the project would be for him. Yet within just three days, he achieved his City & Guilds Introduction to Carpentry and Joinery qualification. He then chose to volunteer his own time to return for the full second and third weeks, showing real dedication. Inspired by our Trade Mentors on site, Elliot decided he wanted to pursue a career in carpentry. With support from the VIY Youth Engagement team, he secured his CSCS card and later moved into paid work experience with Morgan Sindall, who funded the project. A few months on, he was working with their carpentry contractors. His update: “Absolutely loving it – believe I’m pretty good at it also.”
Why the model works
VIY works because the learning is practical, relational and real. Young people are not only told about construction; they work on live community projects with mentors who have done the job themselves. That gives mentors credibility, gives learners visible role models, and turns training into something tangible.
The model also works for experienced tradespeople because it protects status and purpose. They are valued for their judgement, standards and know-how, not simply asked to step away from the work they know. As Sellwood explains, experienced mentors often make excellent mentors because they have “been around the block”. They know their trade, they understand people, and they are often at a stage in their career where they want to give something back.
For employers, mentoring is a retention strategy at both ends of the workforce. It helps experienced workers stay involved and helps newer entrants gain the confidence, support and practical judgement they need to stay and succeed.
"They know their trade, they understand people, and they are often at a stage in their career where they want to give something back."
Employer benefits
The VIY model offers several practical lessons for employers and sector partners. Its value is not only social or charitable; it has practical workforce benefits for organisations that need to retain knowledge, support new entrants and demonstrate social value.
Retaining practical knowledge
A tradesperson with decades of experience holds insight that cannot be replaced quickly by a new recruit. Mentoring roles keep that knowledge in circulation.
Improving learning and work readiness
Construction skills are not learned only through written instruction. Young people need to see how experienced workers approach a job, manage risk, solve problems and take pride in the finished result.
Creating social value that employers can evidence
VIY projects improve community spaces while helping young people gain skills and giving experienced tradespeople a meaningful route to share knowledge.
Offering a more sustainable role for experienced workers
VIY’s projects do not replicate the full physical demands or working patterns of conventional construction sites. Learners are typically on site from around 9.30am to 3pm, rather than following traditional site hours. For experienced or semi-retired tradespeople, and for anyone whose physical workload is becoming harder to sustain, this creates a more practical way to stay active in the sector.
What employers can learn from VIY
Employers do not need to recreate VIY’s whole model to learn from it. The transferable lesson is simpler: identify experienced workers who already mentor informally, give them protected time and support, and build mentoring into workforce planning before physical strain forces a decision.
The starting point is to spot people who already show natural mentoring behaviours. These may not always be the most senior workers. They may be the people who explain things clearly, stay calm under pressure, help apprentices, model safe practice and take pride in passing on standards.
Training and support also matter. Experienced tradespeople may have deep occupational knowledge but still need help with safeguarding, coaching, managing difficult behaviour, assessment, paperwork or confidence. VIY’s model shows that this is not a reason to overlook experienced workers. It is a reason to provide the right support around them.
The lesson from VIY is simple: experience should not leave construction by default. With the right role design, it can become the bridge between the workforce the sector has and the workforce it urgently needs.
Acknowledgments
Prepared by ProAge as part of the ConstructED project, with research support from Lancaster University Management School students: Harry Blundell, Joyce Bilz, Christopher Beckett, Kacper Kajoch and Jinny Choi.
About VIY
VIY operates a cross-sector partnership approach. The organisation brings together partners from across the public, private and third sectors, from UK Government/public sector programmes like the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer and UK Shared Prosperity Fund, to private sector partners including Balfour Beatty, Morgan Sindall, Wates, Travis Perkins, Toolstation and Dulux, and grant-givers like Impetus, The National Lottery and Postcode Lottery Innovation Fund. These partnerships help create opportunities for experienced tradespeople to pass on their skills and knowledge while supporting young people to gain practical experience and City & Guilds accreditations. The approach has enabled VIY to deliver more than 1,000 community refurbishment projects since 2011, working with over 18,000 young people and engaging partners from across the public, private and voluntary sectors. Use the link to read VIY's Impact Report for 2024-25.
About ProAge
ProAge is a charity working to make workplaces more age-inclusive and better equipped for multigenerational working. We support employers to recognise the value of experience, challenge age-related barriers and design practical approaches that help people contribute, develop and remain in work for longer. Through the ConstructED project, ProAge is exploring how flexible roles, mentoring and knowledge-sharing can help the construction sector retain experienced workers while supporting the next generation of talent.