New colleges to boost construction skills across UK

A network of new specialist colleges will train more than 40,000 construction workers by 2029 under government plans to tackle critical labour shortages and accelerate housebuilding.

Unveiled this week by the Department for Education, the Construction Technical Excellence Colleges will operate in every English region, training apprentices and adult learners in high-demand trades such as bricklaying, groundworks, and structural construction. These roles are essential to the UK’s concrete sector, where shortages of skilled operatives continue to affect productivity and delivery timelines.

The move is backed by a £100 million investment and forms part of the government’s wider Plan for Change, which includes a target to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament.

The ten new colleges—located in cities including Leeds, Derby, Exeter and Sunderland—will offer advanced technical education in partnership with employers, existing training providers, and industry bodies. A further £625 million construction skills package, announced earlier this year, is expected to support an additional 60,000 workers through apprenticeships, skills bootcamps and placements.

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. Construction Technical Excellence Colleges will invest in people and give them the skills they need to break down barriers to opportunity in an industry essential to delivering growth.”

The announcement follows warnings from the Office for National Statistics that the UK construction sector currently faces a shortfall of around 35,000 workers. Recent surveys show fewer than half of employers now fund or provide training, down from 57% in 2011.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) welcomed the announcement as a “transformative opportunity” to expand training routes in local communities, while the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) noted the relevance of these skills to wider national infrastructure goals, including nuclear, hydrogen and carbon capture.

Tim Balcon, chief executive of CITB, said: “These new colleges build brilliantly on the wider £600 million construction skills package we’re delivering with government. Together, they will help create a robust pipeline of talent and deliver good jobs and economic growth.”

The new colleges are:

• Leeds College of Building (Yorkshire and the Humber)
• Dudley College of Technology (West Midlands)
• Derby College Group (East Midlands)
• Wigan and Leigh College (North West)
• City of Sunderland College (North East)
• North Kent College (South East)
• Exeter College (South West)
• West Suffolk College (East of England)
• New City College (Greater London)
• Bedford College (cross-regional hub)

All will operate on a hub and spoke model, supporting local employers and training providers and helping to ensure that learners enter the workforce with practical, site-ready skills.

The initiative is also linked to the new Youth Guarantee, which promises a quality training or work offer to every 18–21-year-old in England.

According to Skills England, construction is one of the UK’s fastest-growing employment sectors. With the addition of these new colleges, the concrete construction industry can expect a stronger and more sustainable skills pipeline for the years ahead.