More than 40,000 future builders, bricklayers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers will get cutting edge skills to get Britain building at state-of-the-art Technical Excellence Colleges unveiled today (Tuesday 12 August).
The specialist colleges will be in every region of England to deliver the workforce needed to turbocharge the building of new homes, schools and hospitals, helping to realise every Brit’s dream of owning their own home.
The move will allow the industry to draw on homegrown, British talent in the years to come rather than relying on overseas workers, backing the British working class with well-paid, high skilled job opportunities.
Backed by a £100 million investment, the colleges will help deliver well-paid jobs for British workers, support the construction sector and deliver the government’s commitment to build 1.5 million homes through its Plan for Change.
Not only did the government inherit a severe shortage of housing, the UK also doesn’t have enough construction workers to start building more homes at the rate required, with figures from the Office for National Statistics showing around 35,000 job vacancies need to be plugged in the sector.
Britain cannot and should not rely on foreign labour, which is why the specialist colleges are central to delivering growth – by working closely with employers, existing colleges and local communities to make sure that the skills people are getting are in-demand and will lead to well-paid work.
The new specialist colleges announced today will train 40,000 construction learners by 2029. They will also break down barriers to opportunity, by supporting young people breaking into the sector at the start of their careers as apprentices, as well as established workers getting new skills for better paid jobs. This future proofs the economy, preserving our highly-skilled construction workforce for generations to come.
This builds on the £625 million investment announced in March, which will separately be used to train up to 60,000 more skilled construction workers by 2029. This will pay for new foundation apprenticeships, skills bootcamps and industry placements for school leavers, all of which will help lay foundations for long term economic growth through the government’s Plan for Change.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said
We need skilled workers to deliver the homes, schools and hospitals that communities across the country are crying out for, and today’s announcement underlines our commitment to the next generation of homegrown talent.
Construction Technical Excellence Colleges will enable us to invest in people and give them the skills they need to break down barriers to opportunity in an industry which is essential to delivering growth through our Plan for Change.
The colleges will soon be online to deliver high quality skills training, announced in the same week that young people across the country get their results in A-levels, T Levels and a range of vocational qualifications.
A recent survey found that the percentage of construction firms funding or offering training to their workers has fallen from 57% in 2011 to 49% in 2024. This coincides with an increasing reliance on construction workers coming to the UK from abroad, preventing our young people from filling the skills needs of our nation and perpetuating the issue of almost one million young people not being in education, employment or training.
In response, the industry-led Construction Skills Mission Board has pledged to recruit an additional 100,000 construction workers a year by the end of this parliament. This will build on the £625 million government investment announced at Spring Statement, which will also help to provide more flexible apprenticeship options and get out of work young people into the workforce.
David Hughes CBE, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said
Today’s announcement is very positive news for people wanting good jobs, for the construction employers looking for skilled people and for the government’s ambitions to build 1.5 million new homes. It represents significant investment and trust in the 10 successful colleges, and the college sector, recognising their crucial role in boosting the country’s construction sector by opening up high quality learning opportunities all over the country.
We look forward to supporting the TECs as leaders in the construction skills arena, partnering with employers, developing new courses and ensuring that innovation in construction techniques and approaches can be supported across all employers with skills training. We are also keen to help the TECs build their networks with other colleges in their areas.
Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board, said
It’s wonderful to see the progress being made towards establishing these Technical Excellence Colleges for Construction. They represent a transformative opportunity for people to complete local vocational training, helping to drive regional growth and nurture the next generation of skilled construction workers in local communities.
This builds brilliantly on the wider £600 million construction skills package we’re delivering in partnership with government, helping create a robust pipeline of talent that will break down barriers to opportunity, delivering good jobs and powering economic growth across the UK.
Andrew Hockey, CEO at the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, said
Investing in Further Education and independent training providers is critical for both the construction and engineering construction industries to equip learners with sustainable, transferable and future-proofed skills.
The construction and engineering construction workforces will be critical in delivering the UK’s industrial strategy, including major projects such as the nuclear new build sites at Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C and nascent industries such as hydrogen and carbon capture.
Roger Morton, Director of Business Change at the National Homebuilding Council, said
We warmly welcome the announcement of ten new Construction Technical Excellence Colleges and the government’s continued investment in training for the sector to increase capacity and quality. It’s fantastic to see such support for construction skills and this commitment to training chimes with NHBC’s focus on learning.
We’re investing £100m into our own national training programme, funding 12 new multi-skill training hubs around the UK. Providing an immersive, on-site learning experience, these hubs will deliver high quality apprentices across a range of key trades including bricklaying, groundworks and site carpentry.
With government, the wider house-building industry and training providers aligning, we can plug the skills gap and deliver quality new homes at pace.
John Laramy, Principal and CEO of Exeter College, said
Exeter College are absolutely delighted to be selected as the southwest construction TEC. We look forward to working with our college, stakeholder and employer partners across the region to turbo charge construction training.
It is a particular personal privilege, as an education leader who began their career in construction, to be part of a national initiative to ensure our region benefits from the career opportunities that excellent technical education enables. We are excited about working with colleagues in the DfE and wider Government to ensure this national policy has meaningful impact and benefits for the southwest and beyond.
To deliver 1.5 million homes, the housebuilding sector will create hundreds of thousands of good jobs around the country over this Parliament. This represents one of the fastest growth rates of all priority sectors, according to a report by Skills England published today.
The new Construction Technical Excellence Colleges are
- Derby College Group, East Midlands
- West Suffolk College, East of England
- New City College, Greater London
- City of Sunderland College, North East
- Wigan and Leigh College, North West
- North Kent College, South East
- Exeter College, South West
- Bedford College, cross-regional
- Dudley College of Technology, West Midlands
- Leeds College of Building, Yorkshire and the Humber
These colleges will operate on a ‘hub and spoke’ model, working with local training providers and employers to boost training standards and share expertise.
Currently, fewer than half of FE learners who get a qualification go on to work in a relevant industry, but investment in these colleges will help to ensure learners are ready for work when they complete their qualifications.
To fill skills gaps and break down barriers to opportunity for young people, the government has also launched the Youth Guarantee, ensuring that every 18-21-year-old in England will have access to an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or help to find a job.
