Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve training opportunities in construction for people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency.

The department is committed to improving construction training opportunities across England, including in South Holland and the Deepings.

A wide range of government-funded programmes are available for construction employers who are considering hiring employees, offering work experience, or upskilling existing staff. These include Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps, and Free Courses for Jobs. Through the Construction Support Package, we are investing in high-quality training provision, supporting providers to deliver industry-relevant skills and helping more people into good jobs in the sector. The recently announced Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTEC) will drive up standards in construction education by working closely with employers to ensure training meets current and future workforce needs.

The CTEC serving the East of England region, which includes South Holland and the Deepings, is West Suffolk College. This college is part of the government’s initiative to train construction workers through a network of 10 regional hubs operating under a ‘hub and spoke’ model.