College to share funds for jobs in construction

SIR Keir Starmer has pledged a major boost for housebuilding and much-needed construction jobs in the North East, with Sunderland College set to share in a £100m investment.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local democracy reporter [e-mail]

The college has been named as one of 10 new Technical excellence colleges across the country, which the government said on Tuesday would be backed with extra funding to produce the workforce required to “turbocharge” the construction of new homes.

Downing Street claimed that more than 40,000 builders, bricklayers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers would be trained up by 2029 under the project, in the hope of delivering on Labour's plans to build 1.5 million new houses.

The announcement that Sunderland College will get a share of £100m through the scheme comes just weeks ahead of the opening of its newly-built Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA), a multimillion-pound training centre next to the Stadium of Light that is due to launch for the new academic year in September.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said he wanted Sunderland to become a “magnet” for construction training in the North East and ensure that technical skills are “properly valued’.