South Hampshire College Group has secured a £4.5 million capital grant as part of the Construction Skills Capacity Fund from the Department for Education. This grant funding is for a major redevelopment of its Civil Engineering Training Centre (CETC) at the Solent Enterprise Zone.
CETC is home to specialist apprenticeship training in Civil Engineering, Groundworks, and Highways, designed to prepare apprentices for a successful career in the industry. This grant funding will enable the construction of a new 860m², two-storey building featuring modern, industry-standard workshops. The building will replace an existing 500 m² hangar that can no longer accommodate additional students without impacting the quality of practical training.
The proposed replacement and expansion will increase internal floor area at CETC by 360 m². This additional capacity is essential to meet the growing demand for construction skills training. It will pave the way for expanded learning capacity and ensure the delivery of specialist, industry-aligned skills in line with regional priorities.
The local construction sector employs around 30,000 people, with employment projected to grow by 6.3% over the next 15 years. The expanded CETC will play a key role in developing the skilled workforce needed to support this growth and future housing, transport and clean energy infrastructure projects across the region.
Andrew Kaye, CEO of South Hampshire College Group, said: “I’m delighted South Hampshire College Group has been successful in securing a £4.5m capital grant from the Department for Education to continue to develop our Civil Engineering Training Centre at the Solent Enterprise Zone. This new investment will enable the college group to create an additional purpose-built practical training centre on the existing site to meet rapidly growing demand for training in civil engineering, groundworks and highways maintenance. The new facility will also enable the college group to diversify the training offer to meet the requirements of the increasingly wide group of regional construction employers we work with.”
Construction is one of South Hampshire College Group’s flagship provisions, delivering qualifications to over 2000 students and apprentices across Levels 1-4. A fifth of 16-19 year-old students and a third of all apprenticeships across the College Group are in construction, while student and apprentice numbers in this area have grown by almost 40% over the last three years. This sustained growth reflects increasing demand for construction skills and underlines the need for additional, purpose-built training facilities to support future talent and meet the workforce needs of employers across the region.
Jason Woodward, SHEQ Manager at P T Contractors Ltd, said: “It is amazing news that CETC has secured the necessary funding and support to upgrade the civil engineering and construction training facilities at CETC in Gosport. This initiative will help support local employers in the construction sector who are facing continued skills gaps and shortages, challenges with succession planning, and difficulties attracting new talent into the industry. Furthermore, it will provide suitable facilities to support the upskilling of our existing workforce.
“CETC has facilitated all our apprentices over the past six years, delivering both Groundworks and Civil Engineering apprenticeships. Once completed, this new facility will help more local employers across Hampshire and the surrounding counties address the major challenges we collectively face.”