Adults without an A-Level or equivalent qualification will be offered a free, fully-funded college course - providing them with skills valued by employers, and the opportunity to study at a time and location that suits them.  

This offer will be available from April in England, and will be paid for through the National Skills Fund. A full list of available courses will be set out shortly.

Higher education loans will also be made more flexible, allowing adults and young people to space out their study across their lifetimes, take more high quality vocational courses in further education colleges and universities, and to support people to retrain for jobs of the future.  

These reforms will be backed by continued investment in college buildings and facilities - including over £1.5bn in capital funding, which will be extended to the construction and engineering sectors in support of their Industrial Strategy. More details will be set out in a further education white paper later this year.

The coronavirus pandemic and changing economy is why the Prime Minister is developing a long-term plan to ensure that, as work changes, people can retrain, upskill and find new well-paid jobs.

Sue Stevens, Director of Education and Membership, CIHT said:

“CIHT has consistently called for a clear plan to develop the UK’s workforce with the necessary skills and capability to deliver our long-term aims. We welcome this recognition of the important role that life-long learning takes in supporting many of the UK’s policy objectives. CIHT would like to see this announcement as part of a more fully developed programme where the Government would commit to delivering the necessary skills and training that the highways and transportation sector requires.”

You can read more about the government’s announcement here