AoC welcomes Chancellor's £625 million college infrastructure investment

Responding to the Chancellor's Spring Statement, David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges said: "It is reassuring hearing the Chancellor announce investment in colleges to meet the skills needs in the country’s construction sector. It shows that she appreciates how investment in skills is vital to the government’s ambitions on economic growth and delivery across its missions. It also show that she recognises the central role colleges play in educating and training the workforce of today and tomorrow.

"This investment of £625 million will enhance the facilities in colleges across the country and ensure colleges can recruit and retain the staff they need to teach the skills needed in the labour market - for building 1.5 million new homes, retrofitting many more, and building national and local infrastructure and in clean energy. It will open up thousands of opportunities for young people and adults to get the skills they need and which employers are crying out for.

"If the Government's five missions are to be achieved, investing through colleges will be the cornerstone upon which success is built - boosting economic growth, improving public services, and fostering innovation. This announcement today needs to be followed by more in the spending review to ensure that every one of the industrial strategy sectors, plus the NHS and construction, can depend on colleges to support their skills needs.

"With this backing from the Treasury, we are excited at the prospect of a white paper from the Department for Education which can help unleash the potential of colleges to do even more in supporting the skills needed over the next few years. That white paper must secure the vital position colleges have, alongside schools and universities, in the education and skills ecosystem.

"It must help colleges to build more and even deeper partnerships with industry and employers to stimulate demand and support delivery of training and skills. It must reduce bureaucracy for colleges and trust them more, as anchor institutions, to be strategic players as well as delivery organisations in their areas. It must also secure the investment in capital and revenue so that they can scale up the great work they already do, for more employers and more people.

"By investing in colleges and giving them more agency, we can build a resilient workforce and equip the next generation with the skills and knowledge to help the Government kickstart the economy."