Sixteen English colleges have today (April 8) been revealed as the latest to benefit from the government’s £1.5bn FE Capital Transformation Fund.

First launched in September last year, 200 colleges were named in the first round of funding (£200m) so they could undertake immediate remedial work to refurbish their buildings. [emaillocker id=”71749″]

In January 2021, a second phase was launched where all institutions were invited to bid for additional funding to help upgrade their campuses. Bids are now being considered by the Department for Education (DfE) with funding expected to be awarded this Autumn.

This third and final phase will involve the DfE working in partnership with the 16 colleges announced today (see below) to fund projects.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan said: “It is fantastic news that we are launching the next phase of this transformation programme, working with a small number of colleges that are some of the most in need of support to upgrade and revitalise their estates.

“As we recover from the pandemic, it is vital our colleges continue to be great places to learn with excellent facilities. Our priority is making sure every student receives high quality education and training, no matter where they live, so they can gain the skills they need to progress into work and help the economy to rebuild and grow.”

This investment forms part of the government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper reforms. It hopes to transform further and technical education and deliver the skilled workforce to help level up skills and opportunities for more people across the country.

The 16 colleges to benefit from third phase are:

  • Beacon Centre, Blackburn College
  • Lansdowne Site, Bournemouth & Poole College
  • Brooksby Melton College, SMB Group
  • Ashington Campus, Education Partnership North East (Northumberland College)
  • St Austell Campus, Cornwall College
  • Houghall Campus, East Durham College
  • Rochdale site, Hopwood Hall College;
  • Isle of Wight College
  • Great Yarmouth Campus, East Coast College
  • Stafford site, Newcastle & Stafford College Group
  • North Lindsey College, DN College Group
  • Merrist Wood College, Activate Learning
  • Strode College
  • Parsons Walk, Wigan & Leigh College
  • Yeovil College
  • Stanmore College [/emaillocker]
This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is c78_cornwall_college_camborne_opie-1024x368.jpg
Cornwall College