North East to receive £15m in construction training funding
The package was confirmed today as part of a £570m nationwide programme to expand training facilities and capacity for the next generation of skilled workers.
The North East Combined Authority will receive the funding, with Sunderland Construction College named as a future beneficiary.
Metro mayors can decide how to use the funding to boost capacity in colleges ahead of an expected 67,000 extra 16- and 17-year-olds entering post-16 education by 2028.
It is hoped the funding will reduce college waiting lists, and expand opportunities for prospective builders and engineers.
Nationally, the investment has been framed as part of efforts to support housebuilding capacity and meet broader skills needs in the sector, with the government’s self-imposed 1.5m home target firmly at the root of the push for more workers in construction.
The government press release stated that the goal is to ‘create training opportunities to rejuvenate local economies and provide British people with pathways to good jobs’.
