The construction skills funding package announced at the weekend totals £745m across the entire UK, Construction News has discovered, but three quarters of the cash will not be spent before April 2027.
On Saturday night (22 March), the government trumpeted a £600m skills boost for the sector.
However, Spring Statement documents released yesterday show that the amount is actually £145m higher.
HM Treasury told CN this morning that the spending will total £625m in England, with another £120m spread between Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland via the Barnett formula.
Saturday’s statement did not reference a geographical area where money would be targeted, but did say the additional resources were aimed at helping meet the English homes target of 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament.
Yesterday’s Spring Statement revealed the UK-wide spending will be spread across the next four years, with £95m allocated for 2025/26, £200m for the year after and then £225m in both 2027/28 and 2028/29. Nothing is allocated for the initiative in the final year of the Spring Statement period, 2029/30.
Eddie Tuttle, director of policy, external affairs and research at the Chartered Institute of Building, said he was encouraged by the funding, but warned it would come too late to impact ministers’ housing target.
He said it would take “several years for the thousands of workers the government is planning to recruit to be trained to a competent standard and ready to work, so the plans are unlikely to have an immediate impact on the industry’s capacity to build the 1.5 million homes the government is committed to.
“The impact of the increased funding will not come to fruition until this parliamentary period is coming to an end, so while we very much welcome the plans, we question if this will enable the government to meet its ambitious housing targets.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who presented the statement yesterday (26 March), put more meat on the bones of the weekend announcement.
She said that the plan to inject £100m into Skills Bootcamps would provide 35,000 places, while a £40m boost for new construction Foundation Apprenticeships will provide 10,000 opportunities.
The £165m announced for more construction courses will be delivered through the High Value Course Premium and Free Courses for Jobs initiative.
Measures to boost training will involve a new Teacher Industry Exchange scheme to attract industry experts to teach in further education.
Tuttle welcomed that initiative, saying: “High quality training experiences are vital if we are to tackle the large drop-out rates in construction, and thought must be given to ensuring jobs are available for those completing courses.”
Reeves said that the 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges announced at the weekend would be spread across the country, with one in each region.
Nicola Hodkinson, owner and director at contractor Seddon, said: “Ultimately, £600m alone won’t cut it – we need a complete overhaul of our skills development infrastructure.
“Funding must build a stronger pipeline that creates real employment opportunities. If we don’t address complex levies, retention challenges, and the lack of foundational pathways, we’ll continue to miss the mark.”
In its economic and fiscal outlook published alongside the statement, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that the government would deliver 1.3 million new homes by the end of the Parliament, 200,000 fewer than were promised in Labour’s manifesto.
In the House of Commons, Reeves attempted to put a gloss on this, saying that its policy changes would “take us within touching distance” of the original pledge.
The government also announced £4.65bn of new spending on housing and non-defence infrastructure over three years from April 2027.
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Colin Marrs