The pledge will provide £100m of new investment to fund 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges and £165m of new funding to help colleges deliver more construction courses.
Skills Bootcamps will also be expanded with £100m of funding to ensure new entrants, returners, or those looking to upskill within the industry will be able to do so.
All Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) areas will benefit from £20m to form partnerships between colleges and construction companies, to boost the number of teachers with construction experience in colleges, sharing their vital expertise by training the next generation of workers.
Construction will also be one of the key sectors that will benefit from new foundation apprenticeships backed by an additional £40m, which will be launching in August 2025. This will inspire more young people into the construction industry and allow them to progress and specialise in advanced apprenticeships, giving them the tools they need for a sustained and rewarding career.
As part of this new offer, employers will be provided with £2,000 for every foundation apprentice they take on and retain in the construction industry, on top of fully funding the training costs through the new Growth and Skills Levy.
A further £100m of Government funding, alongside a £32m contribution from the Construction Industry Training Board will fund over 40,000 industry placements each year for all Level 2 and Level 3 learners, those studying NVQs, BTECs, T-levels, and advanced apprenticeships. This will help get learners ‘site-ready’ and address the ‘leaky pipeline’ of learners who don’t progress into the sector.
The Government also will sponsor a new Construction Skills Mission Board co-chaired by Government and Mark Reynolds, Executive Chair of Mace. The Board will be empowered to “develop and deliver a construction skills action plan and provide strategic leadership to the construction sector.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We are determined to get Britain building again, that’s why we are taking on the blockers to build 1.5 million new homes and rebuild our roads, rail and energy infrastructure.
“But none of this is possible without the engineers, brickies, sparkies, and chippies to actually get the work done, which we are facing a massive shortage of. We’ve overhauled the planning system that is holding this country back, now we are gripping the lack of skilled construction workers, delivering on our Plan for Change to boost jobs and growth for working people.”
