London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has unveiled an £88.6m investment package to enable more than 20,000 construction courses to train the next generation of housebuilders.
The package, funded by the Department for Education, will also support industry placements and invest in high-quality training facilities and equipment at colleges across the capital.
This will include up to £43m for further education colleges to support new or improved training facilities, with another £2.5m to test and scale up training provision, co-designed with members of the Interim Construction and Built Environment Talent Board.
The cash will fund more than 2,700 industry teaching days for learners, trained by construction professionals as part of the Further Education Teacher Industry Exchange.
“We can’t build the homes Londoners desperately need without the skilled workforce to deliver them,” Khan said. “That’s why I’m investing an unprecedented £88.6m to train London’s next generation of construction workers, helping thousands of Londoners develop the skills they need to access good jobs while tackling critical skills shortages across the industry.
“By bringing employers and training providers together, we can give Londoners clearer routes into good careers while giving businesses the talent they need to grow, helping us to build a greener and more prosperous London for everyone.”
New City College and South Bank Colleges have been appointed by the government to lead the construction skills package, covering construction and clean energy respectively.
South Bank Colleges principal Craig Hanlon-Smith said: “This additional investment is good news for London’s further education sector and our learners. Training needs to keep pace with evolving construction standards and the changing skills needs across the built environment sector. Our learners need the latest theory and practice so they’re job-ready by the end of the course.
“This gives our tutors the latest knowledge and skills on building physics and low-carbon construction. This is an area where we see future growth in demand; we need to have the teaching workforce to deliver the training that employers need and which will support Londoners into good job opportunities.”
The launch of the training funding package follows the mayor’s unveiling of the draft London Plan earlier this month, which sets out ambitions to complete up to 558,000 homes by 2037. This is down 38% from last year’s target, in the face of what Khan called a “perfect storm” facing housebuilding in London.
Please visit:
Our Sponsor