The firms will receive cash under the Government Employer Ownership Pilot scheme, which match funds training cash put up by employers.

Balfour Beatty, Costain, Galliford Try, Kier, Lend Lease, Lovell, Vinci, Wates Group and Willmott Dixon buried their rivalries to form a joint consortium to bid for cash from the new training pot.

The collaboration paid off today with funding from the new scheme, which is designed to give employers more say about how they train and develop future talent in their businesses.

Other winners in the first funding round include Denne Construction, consultant Jacob E & C and Cornwall-based stair specialist Spiral Construction.

Skills Minister Matthew Hancock said: “By giving businesses the chance to shape and set their own training agenda, we’re giving them the power to enrich their workforce with the skills needed for their future success.”

The Employer Ownership Pilot will give businesses access to up to a total of £250m over two years, with more successful bidders being announced in October, and a further bidding round to be launched in the autumn.

The funding package  helps support the Government’s wider Industrial Strategy vision and has been weighted towards the nuclear, construction and automotive sectors.

All bids remain subject to due diligence and contractual checks, and as yet the Government will not reveal how much of the £67m first round pot of funding each bidder will receive.