Decorating and improving our properties is one of the top priorities for Britain’s homeowners, according to a new survey, which means there are many opportunities for young apprentices looking to gain experience in the sector.

The report – which was carried out by digital marketing agency Greenlight – found that a whopping 15.8 million searches were made on search engine Google under the furniture, garden products, decorating products and homeware categories lately.

The top keywords contained within those searches were ‘wallpaper’ and ‘DIY’. Searches for furniture and garden-related items accounted for 67 per cent of searches, while searches for décor accounted for 19 per cent and homeware for 14 per cent.

Neil Saunders, managing director of research agency and consulting firm Conlumino, told DIY Week: "The housing market is key for all these home retail sectors and the outlook for the next five years, whilst not as rosy as pre-recession, is certainly much better than it has been since 2008 and the onset of the downturn.

"As the housing market improves and strengthens, all of these sectors will grow more strongly and they will pick up in terms of the number of consumers looking to make purchases," he added.

Apprentices across the decorating, plastering and electrical sectors could look to make the most of this rising interest in home improvements, which could spell numerous opportunities to learn while they earn alongside qualified tradespeople.

In related news, paint brand Dulux has kicked off the first in a series of 'Let's Colour Weekends', which aim to assist homeowners in choosing the right paint colours for their homes.

The Let's Colour Surgeries will be hosted by Jo Hamilton, Dulux ambassador and interior designer, who will be based at the Finchley Road, London Homebase. "Decorating can be a really simple, cost effective and rewarding process, but many are put off because they feel overwhelmed with choice and are anxious not to make mistakes. Colour is a fantastic way to completely transform a space, so it's important to have the confidence to play with colour," said Ms Hamilton.