UK to rejoin Erasmus in 2027

Ministers have agreed terms with the EU to rejoin the Erasmus+ study abroad scheme from 2027.

The UK will contribute around £570 million to the EU-funded Erasmus+ programme from the 2027-28 academic year – a 30 per cent discount compared to the EU-UK’s standard trade agreement, according to the Cabinet Office.

Future participation will have to be negotiated as part of the EU’s long-term budget and be “based on a fair and balanced contribution”. 

The new deal is likely to mark the end of the UK’s own £100 million-a-year Turing scheme, which was created after Brexit as a replacement student exchange programme for Erasmus and placed more emphasis on sending learners from disadvantaged backgrounds abroad.

Details on the Turing Scheme beyond this academic year will be “shared in due course”, the Cabinet Office told FE Week. 

Ministers began negotiating to rejoin Erasmus+ earlier this and estimate that the scheme could see over 100,000 UK FE learners and apprentices, university students and young people travel across Europe for study and work placements in its first year.

EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “This is about more than just travel: it’s about future skills, academic success, and giving the next generation access to the best possible opportunities.

“Today’s agreements prove that our new partnership with the EU is working. We have focused on the public’s priorities and secured a deal that puts opportunity first.”

‘Opening doors’

The government will appoint a UK national agency to administer the Erasmus+ programme and will issue guidance ahead of the 2027 funding call.

It will also work with education providers to maximise take up, particularly among disadvantaged groups.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “Erasmus+ will open doors for thousands of students and staff right across the country in universities, schools, colleges and adult education.

“This is about breaking down barriers to opportunity, giving learners the chance to build skills, confidence and international experience that employers value.”

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “It’s brilliant news that the UK is rejoining Erasmus+. For both staff and students of all ages, the opportunity to travel and spend meaningful time abroad is so important.

“For students, it widens their perspective on the world, opening their eyes to different cultures and different ways of life, and for staff, the opportunity to learn from other countries on how they deliver technical education and skills is invaluable.”

More funding more trips

The government has spent around £100 million per year on the Turing scheme since it launched the global placement programme in 2021. But funding was cut fby nearly one third for the 2025-26 academic year to £73.6 million.

The UK did not make individual contributions to the Erasmus+ scheme when it was part of the EU. Instead, it paid into the overall EU budget, which was used to fund the study abroad programme.

Indicative estimates made post-Brexit claimed the UK paid more into funding Erasmus+ than it was receiving. 

It contributed an approximate £200 million a year into Erasmus+, increasing each year from 2015 to £296 million by 2019. The UK received £123.76 million in Erasmus+ funding in 2019.

Participant statistics show the Erasmus+ student exchange programme benefitted more students coming to stay in the UK – just 18,305 of 54,619 participants were UK citizens going overseas.

In contrast, Turing’s £105.4 million pot for 2024-25 funded 44,797 UK-based students abroad, including £29.6 million for English FE colleges.

Revealed: First 93 apprenticeships chosen for assessment reform

Skills England has published the first batch of apprenticeships that will be revised through the government’s controversial new assessment approach.

Ten sectors spanning 93 standards have been selected, with the most (28) in engineering and manufacturing followed by health and science (26).

New guidance on how to change apprenticeship assessment plans following the 2025 “apprenticeship assessment principles” has also been released today.

The reforms involve ditching the end-point assessment model introduced in 2017, introducing “sampling” of knowledge and skills, a stronger role for mandatory qualifications in some standards and removing independent assessment of behaviours.

A previous FE Week investigation uncovered discontent from the first five pilots of reformed assessment plans, and alarm that Skills England was “bulldozing” through changes without properly consulting and listening to employers and sector experts.

Skills England plans to plough through assessment reform for the 700-strong suite of apprenticeships in England during 2026, with a target end date of August 1 for getting all apprenticeships started on the process.

Here is the full list of the first 93 standards to go through the process:

Skills England has also revealed that it will convene a taskforce for the construction sector to discuss specific concerns about the reforms – and released a list of 40 standards that will be prioritised for assessment reforms once the issues are fixed.

The agency said: “The construction sector has given us a clear message during the assessment reforms pilot about the need to review the content of apprenticeships, and to implement policy in ways that take account of evolving industry requirements. This has shown us that more work is needed to make sure we can deliver positive change for employers and learners.

“To tackle that, we are bringing together a task force including representatives of industry, regulators and others. This will help us to make sure important construction industry requirements and changes within the sector, such as the Building Safety Act, are fully reflected in the underlying occupational standards, and the task force will also help determine any further solutions that support the successful implementation of improvements to assessment in construction and the built environment.”

This expert group will also support Skills England to set a timetable for assessment changes that “work for the construction sector”.

The agency added: “As a result, we are not expecting to commence any immediate work to apply apprenticeship assessment reforms to the construction apprenticeships at this stage. However, we are publishing this list now, to give an indication of which apprenticeship assessments will be prioritised for reform, once the task force’s work is complete.”

Milburn’s panel of experts named for rising NEETs review

A panel tasked with investigating the causes of almost a million young people being out of work or education has been named as chair Alan Milburn launched a call for evidence today.

Former Labour health secretary Milburn has been asked to author a report that will seek to understand the drivers of young people who are not in education, employment or training, particularly those claiming health and disability benefits.

Among his panel of experts is Lisa O’Loughlin, principal and CEO of East Lancashire Learning Group, crossbench peer and social policy expert Dame Louise Casey, and Sir Charlie Mayfield, former chair of John Lewis and chair of the Keep Britain Working review.

A call for evidence from anyone with “lived experience, knowledge and expertise,” launched today, will run until January 30 next year.

The government says the “groundbreaking” investigation by Milburn and a group of 11 health, business and policy experts, will make policy recommendations aimed at “maximising opportunities” for young people.

The number of young people aged 16 to 24 who are NEET in England is currently estimated at 950,000, or about 1 in 8, with a rise of more than 200,000 since 2022.

About 60 per cent of those NEET young people are economically inactive, meaning they are not looking and able to start work, and they are twice as likely to have a health condition as their wider population group.

The call for evidence said there are “varied perspectives” on the driving causes of these trends, with “debated” factors including labour market changes, social and technological developments, poverty, and “shifts within the benefits system”.

It added: “Addressing this challenge requires a fresh approach. It is essential to consider not only education, skills, and training, but also the roles of employers, the healthcare system, and the benefits system.

“By examining each of these areas, we can better understand the current situation and identify new ways to help young people secure quality employment opportunities. 

Key questions the panel wants insight into include what the barriers and most effective solutions are to increasing the number of young people participating in employment, education and training.

Lisa O’Loughlin, principal and CEO of East Lancashire Learning Group

Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden announced the review in November, two months after he replaced Liz Kendall and took over the adult skills brief.

He was appointed following the government’s U-turn on its controversial welfare reforms, that including blocking under-22-year-olds from accessing health and disability top ups to their Universal Credit claims.

The report will include a ‘discovery’ phase, which diagnoses the trends and causes, and a ‘solution’ phase, which will “identify potential areas for reform”.

An interim report outlining the discovery phase findings is due to be shared with McFadden by Spring 2026, with a “full and final” report due by Summer that year.

The Keep Britain Working review, published in November, looked at rising economic inactivity from ill health in adults, and recommended that employers, employees and the health service take a “shared responsibility” for workplace health and inclusion.

Other panel members include experts on health, disability rights, policy, and mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin.

McFadden said: “Too many young people are being denied the opportunity to reach their full potential, and it is a crisis we cannot ignore.

“This government has invested a further £1.5 billion to create thousands of work, training and apprenticeships opportunities, but to turn the tide on the longer-term trend we need to understand why so many young people have been left behind.

“That’s why I’ve asked Alan Milburn to help us build a system that supports them not just to find a job, but to build a better future – because when young people succeed, Britain succeeds.”

Here’s the full list of panel members:

  • Gavin Kelly – Chief Executive of the Nuffield Foundation and previous Chair of the Resolution Foundation.
  • Rachel Perkins – Clinical psychologist with over 30 years’ NHS experience and former Mind Champion of the Year
  • Ruth Owen OBE – CEO of Leonard Cheshire and disability rights advocate
  • Shuab Gamote – Co-author of ‘Inside the Mind of a 16-Year-Old’ and educational equality advocate
  • Sir Charlie Mayfield – Former Chairman of John Lewis Partnership and Chair of Keep Britain Working review
  • Tracy Brabin – Mayor of West Yorkshire
  • Andy Haldane – President-Elect of the British Chambers of Commerce and former Chief Economist at the Bank of England
  • Ravi Gurumurthy – Group Chief Executive Officer at Nesta
  • Lisa O’Loughlin – Principal and CEO of East Lancashire Learning Group
  • Dr Jennifer Dixon – Chief Executive of the Health Foundation Dame Louise Casey DBE – Social welfare sector expert.

Criminal probe into ‘unlawful’ sale of City College Peterborough campus

Cambridgeshire police have launched a criminal probe into alleged misconduct in a public office after a local council “unlawfully” sold a college adult education campus for £1 despite being valued at £4.6 million.

Peterborough City Council is set to discuss a damning report in a cabinet meeting today that revealed concerns over a 2020 sale of the John Mansfield Centre (JMC) to the City College Peterborough’s charity offshoot.

Police confirmed that three people arrested in May on suspicion of misconduct in a public office remain under investigation.

Statutory officers at the council raised alarms over the “unlawful” sale and associated financial transactions of the JMC, occupied by City College Peterborough, and sold to City College Peterborough Foundation (CCPF).

The report found the council had illegally paid the charity nearly £800,000 in rent as no evidence of a written lease being found.

Over £1 million in illegal transactions are being investigated.

It also found the decision to sell the freehold of the campus building was made outside of “delegated powers” and was made using powers that applied to leases not freehold.

“It was, therefore, unlawful,” the report said.

An investigation surrounding the sale of the JMC was requested in 2022 by Matt Gladstone, when he took up the chief executive position at the council.

The concluding report has been passed onto the police and now forms part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Cambridgeshire Police confirmed a live investigation is ongoing.

A police spokesperson said: “On Wednesday May 21 three people were arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. 

“A woman in her 60s from Cambridgeshire, a man in his 70s from Bedfordshire and a man in his 80s from Cambridgeshire. They remain under investigation.”

Tasha Dalton, current principal at City College Peterborough, said: “We are aware of the publication of the report which relates to a historical matter.

“Our priority is to ensure the college learners, supported people and staff are as least affected as possible.”

What happened?

John Mansfield Centre offers adult education courses to learners enrolled at City College Peterborough.

The college, which is owned by the council, registered City College Peterborough Foundation as a charity in 2013.

The council decided to transfer the JMC to the foundation in September 2019. At the time, the book value of the campus was £4.6 million.

By January 2020, it transferred part of the freehold land, which contained the JMC, to the foundation for £1.

Local authorities have the power to dispose of land for “less than the best consideration that can reasonably be obtained” but require secretary of state approval if the value is £2 million or above.

Statutory officers deemed the transfer “fundamentally flawed” for three reasons:

  1. The officer who made the decision was not “explicitly” authorised and was acting outside of delegated powers
  2. The delegated powers related to leases, tenancies, wayleaves and easements, not freehold sales
  3. The £1 sale was “not at best consideration reasonable obtainable” and would have needed minister approval

The council’s report said no consent was sought from the secretary of state and the form stating the council’s intent to sell the JMC incorrectly stated that the foundation was set up “specifically” for the transfer and management of the campus.

After the sale, the council (through the college) paid monthly rent to the foundation to the amount of £17,010 until February 2021, when it was “mutually agreed” that rent increased to £29,010 per month.

In total, the council paid £790,000 in rent, but the report said no evidence was found of a written lease agreement.

“There is a set process for dealing with leases between charities and their tenants and it would appear that this has not been followed. The lack of written lease also creates a significant degree of uncertainty as to the terms of the council’s occupation and as to any liability which may have accrued,” the report said.

Other unauthorised spending was found including £150,000 linked to maintenance costs and £142,000 in maintenance and capital costs.

The council is seeking legal advice whether the sale can be reversed or its ownership of the JMC can be recovered.

Councillor Mohammed Jamil, cabinet member for finance and corporate governance, said: “The publication of this report is proof that where unlawful acts are identified as having taken place, the council’s statutory officers will not shy away from their duty to report that wrongdoing, and we fully support that approach.” 

He added: “Our monitoring officer and section 151 officer consider that the council acted unlawfully in relation to the sale of the John Mansfield Centre in 2020 and associated financial transactions. Therefore, it is right and proper that this is brought to light, and steps are taken to ensure as far as possible that similar unlawful actions do not happen again.

“As part of our improvement journey since 2022, we committed to rapid and far-reaching improvements in relation to governance and financial management. Many of the steps we have taken in recent years have led to more robust processes and policies in relation to decision making, however the recommendations which will go before cabinet this week seek to bolster this further.”

Some City & Guilds jobs to ship to Greece as new bosses chase savings

The new private owner of awarding giant City & Guilds is planning to cut its workforce bill by relocating some jobs to Greece where personnel costs are “up to 50 per cent lower”.

According to a presentation to investors, PeopleCert, the Greek-owned company that FE Week revealed had bought City & Guilds in October, hopes to cut £19 million from its permanent and short-term staff costs in the next 24 months.

The report said around £13 million of the savings will be made from “personnel cost synergies”, with “optimisation” to be driven through “natural employee churn”.

Around 19 per cent, or 247, of City & Guilds’ 1,300 employees are understood to leave the company each year – meaning that within the next two years about 494 roles within will be vacated.

One third of the vacant roles will be made “redundant” due to “overlapping functions”, another third will be relocated to Greece where costs are “up to 50 per cent lower,” and the remaining third rehired in the UK, the presentation suggested.

A spokesperson for City & Guilds said: “Our long-term goal is to create opportunities through strategic investment in technology and innovation that scale our impact. Whilst some jobs may change through natural attrition, others will be created through strategic expansion, enabling greater efficiency and effectiveness for our learners and customers in an increasingly digital and AI enabled world. 

“PeopleCert has committed to significant investment in our infrastructure, enabling us to strengthen our offers, while ensuring we deliver the quality and experience our customers and learners deserve.”

Plans are also afoot to save £6 million per year at City & Guilds by cutting the cost of its 1,800 industry “associates”, which it describes as assessors working through short-term contracts.

The company believes it can “significantly increase” its associates’ productivity through technology, renegotiating their rates “by 10 per cent” to align with the wider group of companies, and increasing the number of assessments they oversee from “1.4 a day to close to 4 a day”.

The City & Guilds spokesperson added: “Our work at City & Guilds continues as does our commitment to skilled, experienced associates who remain a cornerstone of how we deliver quality assessments and training. 

“Existing contracts remain in place. As part of PeopleCert, we will be investing in technology and processes designed to make working with us easier, while maintaining the professional standards and support our associates and learners expect.  These improvements are focused on reducing administrative burden, improving access to resources, and enabling more efficient scheduling and communication.”

The sale

Creating a City & Guilds fit for the fourth industrial revolution
City & Guilds’ leaders explain the reasons behind the sale

City & Guilds, founded in 1878, ended almost 150 years of charitable ownership this year to “secure its future”, leaders said.

The decision came amid ongoing reforms to technical education qualifications, apprenticeship assessment and higher-level training, disrupting market conditions for the awarding sector.

City & Guilds is the second largest qualification awarding organisation in England by number of certificates issued and the largest provider of apprenticeship end-point assessments, according to Ofqual.

The awarding body was acquired by PeopleCert in October this year, joining a group of training and assessment businesses including ESOL awarding body LanguageCert and a project and portfolio management company AXELOS.

Through the sale, the awarding body’s former owner, charity City & Guilds of London Institute, received an undisclosed sum that includes up to £200 million in “gross assets under management” and up to five years’ rent-free office space, allowing it to grow to become an “innovative social investor and change maker”.

City & Guilds said the sale was worked on with support from relevant regulators and the Charity Commission.

When the sale was announced, staff were told there would be “no job losses” as a result of their transfer, but that “changes could happen later” for legitimate business reasons.

The PeopleCert presentation, first reported by The Guardian and seen by FE Week, says the Greek-owned company sees the purchase of City & Guilds as a “clear opportunity” to turn the awarding body into a “best-in-class, lean corporate structure”.

It more than doubled the Greek group’s annual revenue from £115 million to £277 million.

The presentation sets out a range of “synergy” efficiencies between the awarding body and its new owner, including slashing personnel costs from 69 to 54 per cent – closer to the wider group’s 26 per cent cost base.

It also reassures investors that its “fully scalable technology platform” can rapidly adapt to new business models and that 60 per cent of City & Guilds’ revenue is “underpinned by stable government funding schemes” including 16-19, adult education and the apprenticeship levy.

PeopleCert said it wants to capitalise on a “unique market opportunity” as non-profit competitors in the awarding sector “consider divestment in response to technological disruption and AI”.

The presentation suggests the wider group want to leverage the City & Guilds for future acquisitions, ultimately moving towards a “first-of-its-kind” Global University of Applied Skills – a project the group is yet to discuss publicly.

Ofqual fines Pearson £2m for GCSE resit and other exam rule breaches

Exam board Pearson has been fined £2 million by Ofqual for “serious” rule breaches which affected tens of thousands of students taking language qualifications – including GCSE resitters.

The fines are for breaches affecting three different qualifications between 2019 and 2023, including its GCSE English language 2.0 and A Level Chinese.

Pearson, which has now been fined seven times by exams regulator Ofqual, has accepted responsibility and apologised to students affected.

The exam board has agreed to a £750,000 fine for “fail[ing] to identify and effectively manage a risk of inconsistent grading standards” between its GCSE English language qualification and a new GCSE English language 2.0 qualification. 

This is despite Ofqual highlighting the risk in 2022 and 2023.

The 2.0 language exam was introduced by Pearson in 2022. It was aimed at post-16 students who had not achieved grade 4 “standard pass”, including those taking resits. It had 23,165 student entries in 2023.

When standards were realigned with GCSE English language in summer 2024, students “received correct but unexpectedly lower results”, said Ofqual, which “undermined public confidence” and led to complaints.

Pearson previously defended its decision to “significantly” hike up the grade boundary for the GCSE English 2.0 resit exam after “shocked” college leaders complained of lower-than-expected pass rates and threatened legal action.

‘Multiple issues’ with Chinese A Level

Pearson has also received a £505,000 fine for “multiple issues” related to the Edexcel A Level in Chinese. This included spoken exams in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Ofqual reviewed assessments from 2019, 2022 and 2023, and found “multiple issues with how questions were set, and responses marked, that were inconsistent with requirements”.

Pearson failed to resolve these issues even after teachers and others raised concerns, said Ofqual.

Around 12,000 students were affected, particularly non-native Chinese speakers who were “disproportionately disadvantaged by the assessments being inappropriately demanding for them”.

Pearson has also been fined £750,000 for an English language test that enable international students to meet university entrance requirements. An online version, which has now been discontinued, reportedly made it possible for other people to sit the test on students’ behalf.

‘We take responsibility’ – Pearson

Pearson has issued an apology.

“We take responsibility for the issues that affected GCE A Level Chinese, GCSE English Language 2.0, and our legacy PTE Academic Online Test at different times between 2019 and 2023,” said a spokesperson.  

They accepted Pearson’s actions “did not meet regulatory requirements”. 

“For each of these cases, we addressed the issues, conducted a comprehensive review of our processes, and have implemented robust improvements.

“We apologise to all those affected. We have learned from these incidents and continue to invest in our systems, processes, and training to ensure our qualifications are delivered to the highest possible standard.” 

Ofqual said its enforcement panel took mitigating factors into account when deciding on the penalties. This concluding included Pearson accepting the breaches and entering into settlement agreements

Amanda Swann, Ofqual’s executive director for delivery, said the fines “reflect the serious nature of Pearson’s failures as well as our commitment to protecting students’ interests and maintaining public confidence in our qualifications system”.

“Students must be able to trust that their results, and those of their peers taking the same qualifications, accurately reflect their performance, in line with appropriate standards. Students’ work must also be their own.

“This action is necessary to deter Pearson and other awarding organisations from similar failings in future.” 

Pearson has now been fined seven times by Ofqual. The highest penalty issued was in 2022, when Pearson was fined £1.2 million for failures with reviews of marking arrangements between 2016 and 2019. 

‘I’ll have a look’ at college VAT issue, says PM

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to “have a look” at the long-running VAT “anomaly” affecting further education colleges.

The prime minister said today he would speak to the Treasury about the issue, which FE leaders warn is draining hundreds of millions of pounds from college budgets and undermining the government’s skills ambitions.

The intervention follows a recent education select committee report calling on the Department for Education to make the case for FE colleges and standalone sixth form colleges to be exempt from paying VAT on expenditure.

Despite being reclassified as public sector bodies in 2022, colleges teaching 16 to 18 year olds are unable to reclaim VAT on most purchases linked to education and training. Schools and academies educating the same age group, however, can. 

The government last week rejected the recommendation, arguing that FE colleges are classed as “eligible bodies” for VAT. This means they do not charge VAT on education services but also cannot reclaim VAT on their spending, a position the government said is shared by “many public bodies”.

‘No justification’

Raising the issue during the prime minister’s appearance at a liaison committee session this afternoon, education select committee chair Helen Hayes said her inquiry into FE and skills found VAT was a major factor holding the sector back.

She told Starmer that, “unlike other post-16 providers, FE colleges and standalone sixth form colleges are unable to claim VAT back on their expenditure”.

“This is a tax position for which there is no justification,” Hayes said, adding that the committee’s evidence showed the VAT issue was preventing colleges from delivering against the government’s mission.

She asked whether the prime minister would speak to the Treasury about what she described as an “anomaly”.

Starmer replied: “I [will] certainly have a look at it and talk to the Treasury about it.

“I’m very keen to do what we can to further, further education. I think it’s part of the system that needs more work, more resource, more capability and more weight behind it.”

Millions flowing back to Treasury

The Large College Group, an informal partnership of England’s seven largest colleges, reported last month that £379 million in recently pledged college capital funding is expected to flow back to the Treasury through irrecoverable VAT.

The Association of Colleges estimates college VAT bills cost the sector around £200-£250 million each year.

In its response to the select committee, the government said any tax changes must be considered “in the context of the broader public finances”.

Local leaders to hold £283m college capacity purse strings

Metro mayors and local leaders will be allocated £283 million to “boost capacity in colleges” and offer more construction courses next year.

According to a government announcement last night, the funding will help colleges meet “surging demand” for homegrown skilled workers.

Around £100 million has been earmarked to “boost capacity specifically” in construction courses, while local leaders “will be given the power” to choose how to spend the remaining £183 million on college capacity for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Details in the announcement are limited, but the funding appears to be a second batch of post-16 capacity funding initially released to increase college places in Greater Manchester and Leeds.

The Department for Education (DfE) will also release £8.8 million in capital funding for “specialist” T Level teaching equipment and has confirmed the launch of the FE Teacher Industry Exchange pilot in January 2026.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “Learning a trade opens doors to a brilliant career and a secure future, and trade workers are crucial to our mission to turbocharge economic growth.

“We’re making sure every young person who wants to become a builder, engineer or technician can get that opportunity.

“Our plan for national renewal gives young people the skills they need to get on in life while delivering the homes and infrastructure our country desperately needs.”

DfE press materials say the funding is aimed at addressing an expected 67,000 extra 16 and 17-year-olds in education by 2028, with allocations for each area due to be confirmed “in the new year”.

The government appears to be shifting control over how post-16 capacity funding is shared out to mayors and local leaders, rather than direct allocations to colleges.

It follows £20 million in capacity funding released to Andy Burnham’s Greater Manchester Combined Authority and Leeds City Council, which aims to open up an estimated 9,000 extra college places in coming years through a combination of small building refurbishments and the purchase of new properties for conversion into teaching space.

FE Week understands that a total of £375 million has been allocated to post-16 capacity until 2029-30, although details of how it will be distributed are yet to be confirmed.

In the most recent national capacity funding round, the department released about £230 million to colleges between 2021-22 and 2023-24.

Construction capacity crisis

It comes amid increasing doubts over whether the government is likely to achieve its promise of 1.5 million new homes by 2029. 

According to an Association of Colleges post-enrolment survey carried out in October, 60 per cent of colleges reported limited or closed 16 to 18 enrolments for construction, higher than any other subject area.

Electrical (56 per cent), engineering (37 per cent) and education (28 per cent) also faced reported capacity issues.

Overall, 77 per cent of the 105 colleges, sixth forms and specialist colleges that responded reported a “significant increase” in demand from students.

The survey report said: “There have been persistent capacity constraints in high-demand sectors like construction and engineering where colleges face acute staffing and space shortages which have limited enrolment growth despite strong demand.

“Capacity issues are also affecting apprenticeship provision, especially in technical areas.”

Demographic change was the most frequently reported reason for increased enrolments, alongside GCSE grades, local job market health and availability of work-based training.

Bids open for 19 more technical excellence colleges

Sixth form colleges and designated institutions will be able to apply to become one of 19 new ‘technical excellence colleges’ next year, under plans for wave two of the TEC programme.

The government confirmed today it will hand out a share of £175 million to 19 TECs over four years from April 2026 to boost training high-demand sectors such as defence, digital, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.

The second wave of the Department for Education’s (DfE) programme will also dole out £283 million to mayors and local leaders to boost construction course numbers and expand college capacity in their areas.

Wave two will add to the ten FE colleges that became construction TECs back in August in a bid to train 40,000 construction workers by 2029.

After sector feedback, DfE expanded eligibility to sixth form colleges and designated institutions after acknowledging that some large sixth forms have comparable provision to general FE colleges.

Colleges will also be able to hold more than one TEC status under “dual designation” but this would be a rare occurrence and not standard practice, officials confirmed.

Applications are now open to create five defence TECs, five digital and technologies TECs, five clean energy industries TECs and four advanced manufacturing TECs.

Under new guidance for wave two of the programme, TECs will act as a “hub of excellence” in one of the four in-demand sectors and share and scale up their “model of innovative teaching and curricula excellence” across the sector.

Through a “hub and spoke” model, TECs will be expected to support other FE “spoke” providers such as FE colleges, independent training providers and university technical colleges by sharing resources and expertise.

DfE also will expect TECs to establish networks with other providers across the country in subsector areas where there are similar sector needs. For example, an advanced manufacturing TEC should work with the automotive subsector and a defence TEC should collaborate with the maritime capabilities’ subsector.

“Colleges appointed as TECs will support other providers that deliver provision in their sector, so that the opportunities and benefits that TECs create are spread across regions and learners,” DfE stated.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said: “Learning a trade opens doors to a brilliant career and a secure future, and trade workers are crucial to our mission to turbocharge economic growth.

“We’re making sure every young person who wants to become a builder, engineer or technician can get that opportunity.

“Our plan for national renewal gives young people the skills they need to get on in life while delivering the homes and infrastructure our country desperately needs.”

Funding

The 19 successful TECs will receive an average of £9 million over four years, delivered through capital and revenue funding.

£175 million has been committed over a four-year period, broken down into £137 million capital and £38 million revenue funding and delivered jointly by DfE, Ministry of Defence, and the Department for Business and Trade.

After the TECs have been selected, they will be asked to submit “high-quality costed delivery plans” in summer 2026 along with capital and revenue costs.

They will also have to show support from employers, industry bodies, and strategic authorities relevant to the proposals set out in their delivery plans.

“TECs should also seek match funding or other commitments from employers,” the guidance added.

Around £2 million of revenue cash will be distributed equally per TEC over three years and will go towards TEC hubs developing, scaling and sharing specialist curricula and training with other partner providers.

Meanwhile, capital funding will be awarded for TECs to procure specialist equipment and upgrade their facilities.

Criteria

Budding TECs in wave two are required to meet a swathe of similar essential eligibility criteria as the construction TECs in wave one such as be a further education college part of the statutory FE sector in England.

But DfE has opened up applications to sixth form colleges and designated institutions for the first time after hearing feedback that some large sixth forms have comparable provision to general FE colleges.

Schools, academies and independent training providers are still not eligible to apply to become a TEC, but DfE are encouraging close collaboration with TECs to share expertise.

Depending on which of the four wave two sectors a college applies for, providers will have to meet sector-specific criteria.

These are:

  • Demonstrating employer partnerships
  • Alignment with sector priority occupations
  • Alignment with one or more of the Industrial Strategy priority city regions and clusters and associated subsectors
  • Level 4 + plus provision and Office for Students registration

Like wave one, applicants will be expected to have a finalised financial health grade of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ for the year 2023-24 as assessed by DfE.

Wave two criteria added that once new grades for 2024-25 are finalised in April 2026, DfE will need to confirm that a TECs grade has remained ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

“Any college who receives a ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ financial health grade for the year 2024 to 2025 will subsequently be deemed ineligible to become a TEC prior to appointment,” the criteria added.

Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said described the eligibility rules as “complicated” and warned they “may exclude some otherwise strong bids”. 

TECs are also expected to be Ofsted rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in overall effectiveness. Colleges who have an Ofsted rating of ‘requires improvement’ may apply if they can “demonstrate through a recent monitoring visit report that they have made significant progress against all areas requiring improvement”.

The new criteria added that under Ofsted’s new framework, which has removed single word judgments with report cards, DfE understood that only a small number of colleges will be inspected under the new framework during the bidding process.

For those colleges, it will not apply a single word judgment and will instead consider the new report cards on a case-by-case basis as part of the assessment process.

Colleges also must have an achievement rate above 84 per cent based on 2023-24 figures or an apprenticeship achievement rate above 61 per cent according to the latest data.

Any exemptions from the eligibility criteria will be “rare” and will be considered typically where a single criterion cannot be met due to a “known” issue outside the applicant’s control.

DfE will also consider “dual designation” in exceptional circumstances. Colleges who already hold a TEC status or wish to apply to multiple TECs will have to complete two applications and indicate they wish to hold dual designation.

“Colleges seeking to be considered for more than one sector must provide compelling evidence of their capacity, infrastructure, and expertise to deliver at scale across each area, without compromising quality or impact,” DfE said.

Applications are open until February 16, 2026.