First #TLevel providers to benefit from £8.65 million to upgrade buildings

T Level Capital Fund will help make sure students have access to the industry standard facilities

Eleven T Level providers are set to benefit from a share of £8.65 million investment to help build new classrooms and refurbish buildings in readiness for the introduction of the new technical qualifications in September 2020, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton announced today (11 Jul).

The funding has been awarded from the £38 million T Level Capital Fund which is designed to make sure young people taking the new technical courses have access to industry standard equipment and high-quality facilities so they gain the skills and knowledge employers demand.

Today marks the first wave of providers to be awarded funding from the Capital Fund, with further funding expected to be awarded to more T Level providers later this year.

The 11 providers announced today include The Blackpool and Fylde College that will receive £400,000 to invest in state of the art facilities so students learn the skills they need to progress in the construction industry, and Barnsley College in South Yorkshire that will receive £2.2 million to build a new Digital Innovation Hub so young people gain the digital skills needed for the jobs of the future.

Providers submitted proposals based on their specific needs and all received the funding they applied for in full.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minster, Anne Milton said:

“T Levels will be the biggest change to technical education in a generation – helping young people fast-track their career and get a head start in the world of work.

“I’m thrilled to announce the first batch of T Level providers who will benefit from the T Level Capital Fund, so young people will have access to high-quality facilities come September 2020 when the first T Level courses will be taught. I look forward to announcing further allocations of funding soon.”

Bev Robinson OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College said:

“Blackpool and The Fylde College has invested significantly in its technical and professional learning resources for many years to ensure that students greatly benefit from using industry standard equipment. We welcome the national development of T Levels and the investment which the government is choosing to make.

“The announcement of a financial contribution towards ongoing extensive capital investment will assist in maintaining B&FC’s very high standards of technical and professional education and training aligned to the needs of the economy.”

Nav Chohan, Principal, Shipley College said:

“It’s great news that we can further develop our facilities to support the new qualifications in September 2020”.

The first three T Levels for Digital, Education and Construction will be taught from September 2020. A further seven will to be taught from 2021, including three in Health and Science, with a further 15 coming on stream from 2022 onwards in sectors such as legal, financial and accounting, engineering and manufacturing, and creative & design.

To support the further education sector to deliver the new T Level courses, the Government will provide an additional half a billion pounds every year once they are all fully rolled out.

The T Level Capital Fund is being delivered in two parts:

1. This first part, launched in January 2019, is for the 2020 providers to refurbish their existing buildings or to build new spaces to support the delivery of the first T Levels.
2. Following this, funding for specialist equipment such as digital and audio visual kit, will be allocated to all providers in spring 2020.

The Department for Education has also today named the 37 T Level providers that will take part in the first round of phased implementation of the T Level Transition Programme.

The programme will help young people, who may not be, get up to speed with the skills and gain the confidence they need before starting their T Level.

These providers work in partnership with the Association of Colleges to develop the programme content so it available from September 2020.

The government is also investing £20 million to help prepare the sector for the introduction of T Levels. This includes the £5 million Taking Teaching Further programme, which aims to attract more industry experts to work in the sector, and the £8 million T Level Professional Development offer to help teachers and staff prepare for the roll-out of the new qualifications.

T Levels are a key part of the Government’s drive to transform technical education in this country, so more people gain the skills they need to secure a rewarding career and employers can access the workforce they need to plug skills gaps in key sectors like engineering and digital.

The breakdown of the funding between the 11 providers is available below: