STORY
The Government has announced £96 million in regional funding to create tens of thousands of construction placements across the country. The Department for Education said the funding would support learners starting construction courses from September and help address skills shortages in the sector.
Ministers said the construction industry currently has more than 35,000 vacancies, with over half linked to a shortage of required skills. The funding is being presented alongside reforms to vocational qualifications, including a move from older qualifications such as BTECs towards a clearer system of V Levels, T Levels and A Levels from 2027.
Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said the Government wanted to place hands-on learning on a level with academic routes. The policy is linked to the Prime Minister’s ambition for two thirds of young people to be in an apprenticeship, higher training or university by the age of 25.