Summary: We will invest £120 million to establish 8 new Institutes of Technology across the breadth of England.
- We are determined to ensure that there is high quality technical training available for the 50 per cent of young people who do not go to university, and for adults looking to upskill or retrain.
- We will open new Institutes of Technology across the country. These are partnerships between further education colleges, universities, and employers, offering higher level technical qualifications for students in areas such as digital, construction, manufacturing and engineering.
- This will ensure that all young people, whatever their background, can access the higher-level technical education that will prepare them for well paid, highly skilled jobs.
Background
- We have already opened the first 12 Institutes of Technology, but many areas of the country remain without access to them. Institutes of Technology offer specialised technical training at Levels 4 and 5 – above A Level but below degree level. The first 12 opened this September, but many areas of the country do not currently have access to this provision, and we are taking action to put this right.
Our solution
- We will invest £120 million to establish new high-quality Institutes of Technology across England. This will allow us to establish a further 8 Institutes of Technology in ‘cold spots’ that do not currently have access to this provision – which include built up areas in the North West as well as the East of England, among others. These Institutes will provide students and employers with the higher-level skills they need to drive growth and productivity across the country. A competition will ensure that only the highest quality applications are approved.
Conservative record
- We have already made £170 million available to create 12 new Institutes of Technology to invest in new or refurbished buildings and equipment to train young people for the future workplace. The 12 Institutes have access to £170 million of capital so they have the equipment and facilities to deliver a world-class technical education.
Q: How will this make up for cuts to colleges?
At the recent spending review the Chancellor committed a £400 million funding boost for 16-19 education in 2020-21, in addition to funding for pensions. This funding settlement is the biggest annual increase for the sector since 2010.
