The Department for Education (DfE) has announced a £100 million investment for ‘Construction Technical Excellence Colleges’ (CTECs), aiming for tens of thousands of future construction workers to be trained up in high-demand construction skills by 2029, to deliver growth and help build new homes. This independently follows from an earlier investment from the DfE of £625 million, alongside support from leading tiling industry players such as Topps Tiles.
The DfE’s latest initiative will look to support talent in the UK 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 will train 40,000 construction learners by 2029, reports the DfE. The funding 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.
TTA member Leeds College of Building has been named as one of the first ‘technical excellence colleges’ to receive a share of the £100 million in government funding to tackle construction skills shortages, representing Yorkshire & the Humber region.
Leeds College of Building CEO and Principal, Nikki Davis, currently represents the further education sector on the Construction Skills Mission Board, recently launched by the Construction Leadership Council. Nikki said: “We are thrilled to be appointed as one of the first ever CTECs in the country, reflecting our reputation as one of the nation’s leading construction training providers. We look forward to collaborating with other colleges and independent training providers to benefit even more learners and meet the skills needs across our region through cutting-edge specialist curricula and high-quality teaching practices.”
The other new CTECs to benefit from the funding initiative 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; and Dudley College of Technology, West Midlands.
Previously in the year, Topps Tiles made a push to boost the number of qualified tilers in the UK, working with both Leeds College of Building and South & City College Birmingham. Topps Tiles has been transferring the maximum amount of its Apprenticeship Levy funds an organisation can gift, 50%, to support small tiling companies wanting to take on a tiling apprentice. It is also actively promoting the tiling apprenticeship training delivered at Leeds College of Building and South & City College Birmingham via in-store and online promotions, in addition to donating tens of thousands of pounds of tiling equipment and materials to both colleges to support teaching.
Investments from government and industry seek to address the future need for a skilled workforce, which is important given that the Office for National Statistics reports that around 35,000 job vacancies need to be plugged in the sector to build homes at the rate required. A recent survey also 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.
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.”
Find out more: www.gov.uk/government/news/40000-people-to-get-skills-in-new-technical-excellence-colleges
