The new construction-focused UTCs will be based in: Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, Burnley in Lancashire, Houghton Regis in central Bedfordshire, and Southwark and Greenwich in south London. They will offer 14-19 year olds the opportunity to take a full time, technically-oriented course that is supported by an employer, with a view to continuing to higher education or further learning in work.
CITB-ConstructionSkills chief executive Mark Farrar said that the colleges would “bring new blood into our industry”. He said: “University Technical Colleges are a welcome addition to the current vocational offering for 14-19 year olds. They will provide employers, education providers and local government with a unique opportunity to work more closely together to ensure that the skills coming into the sector meet the needs of employers but also facilitate regional requirements and the development needs of the local economy.
“CITB-ConstructionSkills will be working closely with industry and industry bodies to help UTCs develop relevant and robust curriculums for construction. We are keen to ensure that any work projects in UTC construction programmes are compatible and relevant with the industry’s current and future skills needs. It’s important that a consistent approach to training and standards is agreed and that best practice is shared across colleges. We also need to avoid at all costs the inclusion of construction programmes unless they are strictly demand driven.”
CITB-ConstructionSkills is working with the Baker Dearing Trust to ensure that UTCs train students to industry recognised standards. Both organisations will be working with the five new UTCs by supporting the development of their curricula and the delivery of training.
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