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Reducing Early Attrition in Apprenticeship Hiring

6-month retention increased from 87% to 98%

Berkeley group improve diversity in construction

The recruitment challenge

Berkeley Group, a leading UK property developer, was facing a familiar challenge in early careers hiring.
While they attracted strong interest in their apprenticeship programmes, retention in the first 6–12 months was a concern. Many candidates entered the role without fully understanding the realities of the job — leading to early drop-off and wasted hiring effort.
At the same time, traditional screening methods like CVs were proving ineffective for entry-level roles, where prior experience is limited and not predictive of success.
Berkeley needed a way to:
  • Improve early retention
  • Ensure candidates understood the true nature of the role
  • Identify those most likely to succeed and stay

The assessment solution

Berkeley partnered with ThriveMap to replace CV screening with a Realistic Job Assessment.
Instead of asking candidates to describe their experience, the assessment:
  • Simulated a “day in the life” of the apprenticeship
  • Showed the realities of the role — including early starts, physical demands, and on-site working
  • Assessed candidates on practical behaviours and decision-making, not background
Crucially, candidates were given the option to self-select out if the role wasn’t right for them.
This shifted the hiring process from:

“Can you get the job?” to “Is this the right job for you?”

Rather than testing general knowledge or abstract reasoning, the assessment focused on key role competencies – communication, stress management, and judgment – within a simulated “day in the life.”

The impact

Since introducing ThriveMap, Berkeley has seen a significant improvement in early retention across cohorts.
  • First 6-month retention increased from 87% to 98%
  • 12-month retention improved from 62% to 85%
This represents a substantial reduction in early attrition, particularly in the critical first year.
The approach won LCA’s apprenticeship program of the year.

Why it worked: the commercial results

The improvement wasn’t driven by better filtering alone — but by better alignment.
  • Candidates entered the role with a clear understanding of expectations
  • Those who weren’t suited opted out earlier in the process
  • Hiring decisions were based on real-world behaviours, not CV signals
As a result, Berkeley moved from hiring interested candidates to hiring committed, informed candidates.

“ThriveMap’s Realistic Job Assessments have completely reshaped how we approach recruitment. The process is fairer, faster, and better aligned with our values.”

 

Berkeley Apprentice pre hire assessment

Broader Benefits

Alongside improved retention, Berkeley also achieved:
  • 32% of apprentices hired were women (nearly 3x the industry average)
  • 100% CV-free screening, improving fairness and access
  • Improved candidate experience and hiring manager confidence

Key takeaway

Improving retention isn’t just about selecting better candidates.
It’s about ensuring candidates truly understand the role before they accept it.
By making the hiring process more realistic, Berkeley reduced early attrition and built a more stable, committed workforce from day one.

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