Contractors call for £500m training cash boost

Grant Prior 8 years ago
Share

Construction experts are calling for half a billion pounds to be diverted from universities to boost the quality of professional and technical courses in FE Colleges across the country.

The move would help ease the industry’s skills crisis and produce a new generation of builders.

A report, Higher, Further, Faster, More, by think tank the Policy Exchange was funded by Wates and the Construction Industry Training Board.

It found that funding for higher education institutions has increased markedly since the introduction of tuition fees, with a rise in overall income of 26% since 2009/10 and universities sitting on £12.3bn of unrestricted reserves – worth around 48% of the entire annual budget for the HE sector.

By contrast, Further Education colleges have seen a significant drop in their revenue, with the adult skills budget having been cut by 24% since 2009-10.

It calls for BIS to redirect up to £532m of the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFCE) grant to improve the quality of higher level technical qualification on offer at FE Colleges, National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.

Jonathan Simons, Head of Education at Policy Exchange, said: “The case for training and for skills has never been more important – to help create 3 million Apprenticeships, to fuel the Northern Powerhouse, to boost social mobility and to drive economic growth.

“The UK is home to world beating universities that we should all be proud of.

But as well as degrees, we also need many more people with high class technical and professional skills – and that means a flourishing further education system.”

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at the CITB said: “This report offers a radical rethink of the way education funding is allocated.

“The UK lags behind the rest of the world in terms of how many of us undertake vocational education after secondary school. Just 10% of 25-40 year olds in the UK have a post-secondary vocational qualification, which pales in comparison to the US where 22% of the labour force has similar qualifications.

“Industry needs a reformed FE sector to provide the skills needed for productivity and growth. It is vital that we find the most effective way for FE to deliver this.”

Latest news

Site labour rates start rising again

Industry's biggest payroll firm says "it feels like things could be turning round"
4 hours ago

Council finds extra £33m for Buckinghamshire link road

South East Aylesbury Link Road costs soar by nearly 30% to £147m
4 hours ago

Quartet win £490m North West & Central railway works deal

Skanska, Kier, Octavius Infrastructure and Story Contracting bag major projects deal
4 hours ago

Unite Students plans first major mixed-use scheme

Developer's first mixed BTR and PBSA project to be built in Edinburgh
20 hours ago

Galliford Try names new finance director

Rentokil's Kris Hampson joins contractor to replace Andrew Duxbury
5 hours ago

Council boss hits out at bat threat to £274m road job

Natural England could scupper scheme due to be built by Ferrovial
5 hours ago

Hydrogen-fuelled diggers to be allowed onto highways

Government to raise barrier to widespread use of hydrogen fuelled plant in construction
21 hours ago

Plans in for £118m Government hub in Darlington

Work pencilled to start later this year on new home for 1,450 civil servants
20 hours ago

New contractor highlights Henry Construction jobs on website

New firm lists jobs by failed contractor to show its experience
1 day ago

Contractors line up for £2.6bn Anglian Water AMP8 deal

Eight big names land places on pioneering @one Alliance
2 days ago

McAleer & Rushe bags first major later living project

Work to start this month on 167-flat Royal Tunbridge Wells project
1 day ago

Kier starts first all-electric prison houseblock job in Kent

Next-generation fully electric T60 prison houseblock to be built at HMP Elmley
1 day ago

Keepmoat sees better times ahead in housing market

Profits dip in 2023 despite construction of record number of new homes
1 day ago

Vistry signs partnership deals for 1,900 mixed tenure homes

West Sussex former airfield and Newmarket sites to break ground
2 days ago

Turnover at Wates tops £2bn for first time

Construction division exceeds £1bn turnover as average contract value hits record high of £48.3m
2 days ago

L&G looks to sell Cala Homes in exit from house building

Insurance giant reported to be preparing to offload 3,000 homes-a-year developer
3 days ago

Multiplex profit almost trebles as margin hits 5.5%

Revenue jumps 20% to £675m as big London scheme complete
2 days ago

TopHat puts plans to open huge Corby factory on hold

Advanced manufacturing facility was due to employ 1,000 people
2 days ago

Laing O’Rourke lands Calderdale hospital job

Enabling works to start by the end of this year at West Yorkshire site
2 days ago

Go-ahead for £475m Sunderland film and TV studios

Work to start this year on first phase Corwn Work studios
2 days ago

Willmott Dixon set for £20m Stockport Community Hub

Planning decision expected in June on Marple leisure and health clinic project
2 days ago

Police hunt for blundering dumper truck thief

Raider drove into a fence before getting stuck on a bank
2 days ago

Beattie Passive files administration notice

Passivhaus pioneer has been in business for more than ten years
3 days ago

McAlpine set for £50m space and tech centre

Northumbria Uni sign pre-con deal for new satellite research hub
3 days ago

VolkerFitzpatrick seals £34m Kent road viaduct

Work to start next year on Sturry Link Road near Canterbury
3 days ago

Eight win £600m Scottish civil engineering framework

Balfour, Farrans, Graham and Morgan Sindall win major works lot
3 days ago

Site engineer crushed to death by excavator

22-year-old victim died just months after graduating from university
5 days ago

NG Bailey fined £135,000 after hospital site death

Worker died after striking overhead beam while navigating a mobile elevating work platform
6 days ago

Kier lands £30m Mansfield Connect project

Construction to start in January 2025 on town centre regeneration scheme
3 days ago

Award-winning steelwork firm files administration notice

Kelpies steelwork specialist SH Structures files court notice
6 days ago

Contractor services