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Tunnellers training plan gets funding

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The tunnelling sector’s pitch for government funding to support training programmes has come up trumps.

Skills minister Nick Boles has allocated £1.1m to match £1.7m of industry investment in tunnelling industry training.

The project brings together industry leaders, including Crossrail-linked employers, working on major tunnelling and underground construction projects. It follows a bid from the group for funding through the government’s employer ownership pilot (EOP) programme.

The employers will use the money to create 75 new apprenticeship places, including 20 specialist marine apprenticeships. They will also create a series of accredited courses for tunnelling, working with small subcontractors and employees at all levels. They are aiming to provide training to 4,813 workers in total.

Part of the work to be undertaken by the tunnelling industry partnership will see the creation of a new industry advisory panel (IAP), representing all Crossrail-linked employers and future large tunnelling employers, co-operating on ways to develop the industry.

Crossrail chairman Terry Morgan said: “The volume of tunnelling and underground construction work taking place in the UK over the next decade is unprecedented. Crossrail, in partnership with its principal contractors, has delivered the most significant injection of new skills in a generation. It is essential that we continue to grow the industry’s talent base to ensure Britain remains at the forefront of major infrastructure delivery.”

This initiative is in addition to the £13m Tunnelling & Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) in Ilford, East London that was set up in 2011 by Crossrail with government support. TUCA, is a purpose-built training facility that supports the key skills required to work in tunnel excavation, underground construction and infrastructure. There have been more than 8,000 enrolments to date.

 

 

The Construction Index UK News

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