- Local colleges set to receive £570 million to expand
training facilities and places to train the next generation of
skilled workers
- £283 million share going to metro mayors and local leaders,
supporting delivery of 60,000 additional construction
workers
- Applications open for the next wave of Technical Excellence
Colleges specialising in advanced manufacturing, defence, digital
and clean energy skills
More builders, coders and engineers of the future will be able to
access the life-changing opportunity to gain the skills they will
need for their careers, as the government delivers on its
investment of more than £283 million to help them meet surging
demand for homegrown skilled workers.
Around £100 million of this funding will go to mayors and local
leaders to boost capacity specifically in construction courses to
address growing college waiting lists across the country and help
achieve the government's goal to train 60,000 additional
construction workers to build 1.5 million homes by the end of the
Parliament.
Metro mayors and local leaders will be given the power to decide
how they use the rest of the funding to boost capacity in
colleges ahead of an expected 67,000 extra 16- and 17-year-olds
entering post-16 education by 2028. This means communities can
create training opportunities to rejuvenate local economies and
provide British people with pathways to good jobs, driving
national renewal and ensuring every young person, no matter
their background, is given the chance to succeed.
It comes as applications open for colleges to bid to become
a Technical Excellence College (TEC) in one of the
government's priority Industrial Strategy sectors: advanced
manufacturing, clean energy, defence and digital and
technologies.
The 19 TECs, announced in the government's Post 16 Education and
Skills White Paper, add to the 10 already launched for the
construction sector, which will train 40,000 construction
learners by 2029.
The TECs will break down barriers to opportunity and deliver the
gold standard pathways young people deserve, helping the
government to reach the Prime Minister's target for two thirds of
young people to be in higher level learning by age 25.
Skills Minister said:
“Learning a trade opens doors to a brilliant career and a secure
future, and trade workers are crucial to our mission to
turbocharge economic growth.
“We're making sure every young person who wants to become a
builder, engineer or technician can get that opportunity.
“Our plan for national renewal gives young people the skills they
need to get on in life while delivering the homes and
infrastructure our country desperately needs.”
T Level providers are also set to benefit from an £8.8 million
capital funding boost for specialist industry-standard equipment
for high priority areas, giving students access to the same
technology used in industry.
A survey conducted by the Association of Colleges recently found
that nearly one in three colleges reported they had had to limit
or close apprenticeship courses in construction due to staffing
or space challenges, more than any other subject.
It follows the announcement of a major £1.5 billion cash
injection to provide learning or employment opportunities for
almost one million young people and create 50,000 more
apprenticeships for young people over the next three years,
ensuring more young people are given the chance to build their
skills and get that crucial first step on the career ladder.
More widely, the government's ambitious Post-16 Education and
Skills White Paper set out plans to improve quality of further
education, introducing structured professional development for
further education teachers and an expectation that colleges
deliver at least 100 hours of face-to-face English and maths
teaching for those who haven't passed those GCSEs.
It also announced the creation of V levels as a brand new
vocational pathway to sit alongside A levels and T Levels,
allowing students to explore different sectors like Engineering
or Digital while keeping their options open.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- Partnerships between construction employers and further
education providers will also be strengthened to enhance the
quality of teaching through a new FE Teacher Industry Exchange
pilot being launched in January. This will bring construction
industry professionals into further education classrooms and give
teachers hands-on site experience.
- Final allocations for the £283 million funding announced here
will be confirmed in the new year. The TECs rollout will take
place from April 2026.
- The ONS estimates an increase of 67,067 16- and 17-year-olds
from 2024 to 2028. Dataset is available at: Zipped population projections
data files, England - Office for National Statistics
- The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper is available
at: Post-16 education and skills
white paper - GOV.UK
- Data on college staffing or space challenges for construction
courses comes from the AoC's 2025 enrolment survey, available
at: AoC-Enrolment-survey-report-2025.pdf
