Heathrow will create a youth employment and skills plan tied to its third runway expansion, aiming for 5,000 apprenticeships, traineeships and entry-level roles and launching an Infrastructure Skills Council to link major projects with routes into construction and engineering.
Heathrow will develop a youth employment and skills plan targeting 5,000 apprenticeships, traineeships and other entry-level opportunities tied to its expansion.
An Infrastructure Skills Council, co-chaired by Lord Blunkett and Robert Halfon, will convene contractors, unions, colleges and training providers to map routes into infrastructure careers.
The council will hold four regional meetings across the UK and publish recommendations for Heathrow, the wider infrastructure sector and government.
# What the plan is Heathrow has announced a youth employment and skills plan connected to its proposed third runway. The programme aims to create 5,000 entry-level opportunities — apprenticeships, traineeships and similar roles — that provide direct routes into construction, engineering and related infrastructure careers.
# Who is involved The airport has set up an Infrastructure Skills Council to shape the practical steps needed to connect major projects with young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The council will bring together contractors, employers, trade unions, colleges and training providers.
The council will be co-chaired by former education secretary Lord Blunkett and Robert Halfon, who is executive director at Make UK and a former skills and apprenticeships minister.
# Why Heathrow is making this move Nearly one million young people in the UK are currently classed as NEET. Heathrow positions its expansion as a source of large-scale employment and training opportunities: the airport says expansion could ultimately support 108,000 jobs across construction, engineering, logistics, sustainability and supply-chain roles. The council and the 5,000-place plan are intended to convert that potential into tangible entry routes for young people.
# How the council will operate
Government youth employment adviser Alan Milburn, who is conducting an independent review into young people and work, has publicly backed the initiative and described major projects like Heathrow expansion as having the potential to connect young people to skills and jobs.
# What this could mean for young people and the sector The plan targets early-career entry points that combine on-the-job learning with training routes often required for careers in construction and engineering. If the council's recommendations influence contractors and training providers, the approach could create clearer, more consistent pathways across regions.
For the construction and infrastructure sector, the initiative is positioned as part of a wider pipeline of nationally significant projects that need trained workers. Employers, colleges and unions are expected to collaborate on aligning recruitment, training delivery and progression routes.
# Near-term next steps
# Caveats and context The announcement links the youth-skills programme to the airport's expansion plans, which are subject to timelines and planning outcomes. The article notes the broader scale of jobs Heathrow projects, but the 5,000 figure applies specifically to targeted early-career positions rather than the total employment footprint.
# Bottom line Heathrow is aligning part of its expansion programme with a targeted youth-skills effort designed to deliver 5,000 entry-level places and create a formal council to coordinate routes into infrastructure careers. The initiative responds to a high national NEET figure and aims to produce regional recommendations for employers and government.
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