Building a skilled, inclusive and future‑ready workforce
Supporting careers in construction
At wienerberger UK & Ireland, building for what’s next means investing in people as well as products. A skilled workforce, both within wienerberger and on construction sites, is essential to delivering high‑quality homes, improving safety, and supporting a resilient built environment.
With the UK construction industry facing a long‑term skills shortage, we actively support apprentices, trainees, students and career‑changers through skills competitions, education partnerships and targeted social impact programmes. Together, these initiatives help strengthen the talent pipeline and create clearer, more inclusive routes into construction sector careers.
Supporting apprentices and trainees at national skills competitions
Skills competitions play a vital role in developing technical ability, professionalism and pride in craft. We are proud to support several of the UK’s most respected construction skills competitions, providing materials, expertise and long‑term partnership.
SkillBuild
Delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), SkillBuild is the UK’s largest multi‑trade construction competition for apprentices and trainees.
We support the bricklaying and roof tiling competitions by donating tens of thousands of bricks for bricklaying heats and finals; and roof tiles and accessories for the roof slating and tiling competition.
These materials help ensure competitors can demonstrate their skills using the same high‑quality products found on live construction sites.
Guild of Bricklayers
We have supported the Guild of Bricklayers annual competitions since 1990, helping to champion excellence in brickwork and preserve high standards of craftsmanship.
wienerberger typically donates over 50,000 bricks from our UK factories for regional heats and the national final. Judging focuses on accuracy, finish, alignment and attention to detail – reinforcing the professional standards expected on site.
Super Trowel
We are proud to sponsor Super Trowel, the UK’s largest professional bricklaying competition, often as the event’s official brick partner.
Across the national heats and finals, around 80,000 bricks donated by wienerberger. These bricks are used for the competition and then redistributed to further education colleges and not‑for‑profit organisations, supporting ongoing training and learning beyond the event itself.
Building careers beyond competition
While competitions offer the opportunity to celebrate honed skills, we know that it takes years of study and practice to create beautiful buildings. Therefore, our support for construction careers extends much broader and deeper, beyond competitive events.
Supporting training providers and apprentices
We work closely with further education providers to help strengthen vocational training and ensure apprentices have access to real‑world learning.
Our long‑standing partnership with Leeds College of Building supports Roofing Skills & Training apprentices through:
- Factory tours at our Broomfleet tileworks
- Product donations for training use
- CPD sessions led by our roofing specialists, including in‑roof solar training at our Sandtoft Centre of Excellence
Through our partnership with Optimum Skills Construction Academy in Gateshead, we support bricklaying and roofing apprentices via:
- Technical CPD sessions delivered by experienced roofing professionals
- Donations of clay roof tiles and accessories for daily training use
These collaborations help to address industry skills shortages while giving learners exposure to both modern construction techniques and heritage craftsmanship.
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Partner a College
Through the Home Builders Federation’s Partner a College programme, we work alongside housebuilders, colleges and training providers to help bridge the gap between education and employment. The programme embeds real‑world industry experience into further education, supporting students to become job‑ready and confident entering the construction sector.
Supporting future architects
We also invest in architectural education through a RIBA Part 3 bursary programme with the Manchester School of Architecture. The bursaries support students facing financial barriers while encouraging a strong focus on environmentally and socially sustainable design within the built environment.
