The UK government has announced that £96million will be allocated to train new talent and build more homes, creating tens of thousands of placements on building sites across the country to plug skills gaps and boost housebuilding. Among the initiatives to be funded are plans for new qualifications in construction design, engineering design and engineering manufacturing.
The construction industry is facing significant worker shortages, with the latest Office for National Statistics figures showing that there are more than 35,000 job vacancies – more than half of which are due to a lack of required skills. The new funding is aimed at providing hands-on learning and boosting employability for learners who start their construction courses from this September.
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It comes as the government hits a major milestone in helping to bring vocational education on par with academic courses. It has published a plan to support schools and colleges to transition from legacy qualifications at the same level, including BTECs, to a clearer system of V Levels, T Levels and A Levels from 2027 as options after GCSEs, along with two new qualifications for lower-attaining students to support them to progress beyond GCSEs.
New subjects have been announced for the second year of delivery in 2028 that will help to address skills shortages and boost key industries such as housebuilding. These subjects include construction design, bricklaying and plumbing. The plan also includes detailed rollout timelines and advice on content development to help providers transition.
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Together, the plans are central to the prime minister’s ambition to ensure that two-thirds of young people are in a gold standard apprenticeship, higher training or university by the age of 25, boosting priority sectors such as housebuilding, and driving economic growth as part of national renewal.
Announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T levels. Equivalent to one A Level, they will allow students to mix and match academic and vocational subjects if they don’t yet know where they want to specialise.
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For 16-year-olds who aren’t ready to progress beyond GCSEs due to lower attainment, there are two new qualifications: Occupational Certificates, which are two-year courses for those who want to get into work or an apprenticeship but need support to achieve English and Maths GCSEs; and Foundation Certificates, which are one-year courses for students who want to progress to A-Levels, T Levels or V Levels but need extra support to pass their GCSEs.
Among the new subjects available from 2028 are V Levels in construction design, engineering design and engineering manufacturing; two new T Levels in sport and social care, part of the largest expansion for students who want to specialise in sector-facing studies since the qualifications began; Occupation Certificates in bricklaying, painting, plumbing, accounts and finance, and adult care; and Foundation Certificates in engineering, health, legal services and social care.
A new sector-led group, Qualification Practitioners, has been created to lead the way for the sector, shaping and sharing best practice as providers transition to the new qualifications. Providers will be required to have robust transition plans to support staff, students and employers through the change.
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New guidance has also been published that removes the red tape around T Level industry placements. This includes scrapping the limits on the percentage of remote hours a student can do and how many employers they work with. According to the government, this will help more young people gain access to premium placements and empowers businesses to offer placements that work for everyone.