Browne’s Scaffolding is opening its Ashford yard to teachers and careers advisers next week as the industry looks for new ways to tackle its shortage of skilled workers.
On Wednesday 9 September, the Kent contractor will host an NASC Teacher Tour, bringing education and careers professionals into the business to see the routes into scaffolding first-hand.
Visitors will be introduced to apprenticeships and direct entry, the CISRS qualification structure, safety standards and the different career paths available once someone enters the trade.
The visit comes as recruitment remains a serious problem across scaffolding.
NASC’s 2026 Skills Gap Report found that 56% of responding full member businesses had at least one unfilled vacancy, equivalent to around 1,760 vacancies across its full membership.
Scaffolders accounted for the largest share of those vacancies. NASC also found that 83% of respondents expected to recruit during 2026.
The pressure extends across construction. CITB’s latest Construction Workforce Outlook estimates that an average of 41,200 extra workers will be needed each year between 2026 and 2030, around 206,000 workers over the five-year period.
Getting careers advisers into the yard
NASC launched its Teacher Tours pilot earlier this year to give teachers, careers leaders, advisers and employability professionals first-hand experience of the scaffolding and access industry.
David Browne, co-founder of Browne’s Scaffolding, said employers had a part to play in making sure those people understand what a career in the industry can involve.
“For years, construction has talked about the skills gap, but we also have to ask ourselves how much young people, parents and teachers really know about the careers available to them.
“Scaffolding is a skilled profession with recognised qualifications, structured apprenticeships, strong earning potential and opportunities to progress into supervision, health and safety, inspection, design, project management and ultimately running a business.
“If the people advising young people have never seen our industry first-hand, we can’t expect them to understand all of those opportunities. That’s why opening our doors and showing them what the job is really about matters.”
Apprenticeship route
Founded in Kent in 2006, Browne’s now carries out scaffolding and specialist access work across the UK and Europe.
The business also runs its own apprenticeship programme, combining practical site experience with formal training leading to an NVQ Level 2 in Scaffolding.
The Ashford Teacher Tour takes place one day before ScaffEx26 opens at Manchester Central on 10 September, where training, recruitment and the future scaffolding workforce will be among the issues under discussion.
Browne’s said it hopes the visit will give education professionals a clearer picture of the trade so they can discuss scaffolding with young people as a genuine career option.
