Construction Skills Fund (CSF) Grants £22 Million for Training Hubs in 2019

The Construction Skills Fund (CSF), set up by CITB and funded by the Department of Education, released a statement in November that £22 million has been awarded to 26 different construction projects in the UK to train thousands of workers in 2019 and beyond.

Skill shortages in the construction sector are an ongoing area of concern, especially with concerns for our workforce post-Brexit, so 2019 will be the year that this money is put into building new onsite training ‘hubs’. These hubs will be split across the East of England, London, the Midlands, the North West, the South East and Yorkshire, with the goal of construction, completion and training to begin by the end of this year. It is estimated that over 7,000 people could be trained into permanent jobs by the end of 2019, with a further 10,000 people being trained and job ready by March 2020.

All of the training undertaken at these ‘hubs’ will be on live construction sites. This will ensure that trainees are able to gain the practical skills they need to continue their careers.

East of England

- Luton Direct Air to Rail Transit (DART). A £220m fast transit infrastructure project.
- The Alconbury Weald construction hub designed to provide training in housing construction projects

London

- Barking Riverside housing construction hub, with a 15-year project build
- Existing facilities being used at the Kings Cross Construction Skills Centre, as well as additional training which will be undertaken off-site where they cannot accommodate the spatial requirements for delivery. Once works are complete at Kings Cross in 2020, the training hub will move to Euston Construction Skills Centre to start on the HS2 works for the next 10 years.
- Central London ‘Construction Gateway’ training project on-site at the Battersea Power Station (BPS) housing development
- MIT Skills Construction Partnership on-site hub to be spread over a number of sites in London, with training taking place primarily on housing projects
- Earl’s Court Regeneration Scheme for training on housing construction projects
- Onsite ‘pop up’ hub in South Lambeth, again for housing construction projects
- Long-term regeneration of east London, with focus on housing and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
- Southwark Construction Skills Centre (SCSC) to work on Elephant Park. This is a regeneration project set to deliver a £2 billion housing project over 28 acres of land

Midlands:

- Eiffage Kier project, focusing on infrastructure
- Kier Construction training hub in Wellingborough, Northants, dedicated to construction infrastructure training
- Training hub located close to construction sites at Trench, focused on housing
- Nottingham College, to create an ‘Eco Welfare Cabin’ focused on housing construction with the actual Construction Skills Hub located on the Wates’ ‘City Hub’ site
- Infrastructure training to take place on a live site on the M6 motorway, between sections 2-2
- Hub being run by West Midlands Combined Authority, Housing to begin with major housing developments in key housing corridors.

North West:

- 2 separate hub sections to be created for trade and non-trade training in the housing sector
- Hub at the University of Manchester spread over a 10-year construction plan to improve the infrastructure of the University.
- The Liverpool Waters Construction Hub focused within housing construction

South West:

- Hub split between two construction projects run by East Sussex College Group, focused on housing
- Five smaller hubs run by Hampshire County Council, located at Aldershot, Borden, Fareham, Winchester and Southampton. All 5 will be focused on Housing.
- Construction hub at Harlow College to create a mobile site-based hub focused on Infrastructure
- 3 separate training hubs to provide training in Southend on mixed housing projects

Yorkshire and Humber:

- Housing construction hub running until 2029, provided by Keepmoat Homes Limited
- Funding to go into the existing Constructions Skills Village, (CSV) run by Northern Regeneration CIC
- Training hub for housing construction run by Sheffield City Council, onsite at the Manor Boot site.

The Construction Skills Fund is part of the National Retraining Scheme in England and works collaboratively with a range of other training providers, including Jobcentre Plus, to give those wishing to enter the construction industry the best possible chance for training and employment.