Purpose

Approval was sought to allocate funding through existing grant funding arrangements to West Yorkshire Further Education (FE) colleges for:
• Construction provision - provided through Construction Skills Package
• Engineering provision - provided by the ‘top-up’ provided to MSA on 11 June 2026

The decision has been taken to support the delivery of West Yorkshire’s Local Growth Plan and Adult Skills Plan priorities by increasing engineering and construction training capacity in sectors that are critical to housing, retrofit, infrastructure and economic growth.

Grant funding through existing Further Education college arrangements enables rapid mobilisation, builds on established high-quality provision and facilities, and helps meet Integrated Settlement outputs for additional construction enrolments and engineering qualifications. The delivery model combines the strengths of direct college delivery with the flexibility for Leeds College of Building, in its role as the Construction Technical Excellence College lead, to commission specialist subcontracted provision where required. This approach provides greater responsiveness to emerging employer demand, access to niche and targeted training, and the ability to mitigate delivery risks by redirecting funding to alternative providers if required, while maximising the likelihood of achieving agreed outcomes and integrated settlement objectives.

Approval for £1.8m of LGIP funding and £1.6m of construction funding was previously granted on 02 April 2026 with the Key Decision.

This decision sought approval only for £795,315 of engineering funding and the associated individual project allocations.

Decision

This decision authorises the issue of Adult Skills Funding to the following West Yorkshire FE colleges via existing grants arrangements:
• Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, Calderdale College, Luminate (Keighley College), Bradford College, Leeds College of Building

Approval was given in April 2026 to allocate up to £3 million of Adult Skills Funding during 2026/27 through grant agreements with five West Yorkshire FE colleges to deliver additional engineering and construction training. The approved programme includes construction and engineering qualifications, targeted employment programmes, career awareness and engagement activity, and Level 3 upskilling provision to address workforce shortages and progression opportunities.

The arrangements also allow Leeds College of Building, in its role as the Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC), to commission specialist construction provision through the CTEC spokes (training partners) where this provides additional capacity or supports identified sector needs. Funding will be supported through the Integrated Settlement, with any required underwriting met from previously approved Local Growth and Inclusivity Pilot funding.

Key financial and delivery risks include provider under performance related to overestimation of market, capacity to develop and implement new provision which is mitigated through spreading risk across the provider base, thus reducing reliance on any single provider is also recommended.

In line with the FE Compact, West Yorkshire FE colleges have been consulted first to understand sector-focused delivery plans for 2026/27 and assess capacity for growth:
• Proposals received were mapped against Cluster Action Plans and the Adult Skills Plan, alongside employer intelligence, sector professional body insight and Labour Market Information.
• An assessment was undertaken to confirm that proposed activity represents genuinely additional provision and that overall construction provision is increasing year on year, not displacing existing delivery.

Further external consultation has taken place at Local Authority Skills Leads, given Local Authority role as strategic partners. Internal consultation has taken place with the Adult Skills Performance Group, and the Director of Inclusive Economy, Skills & Culture (IESC). Legal, Finance, and Commercial partners have reviewed and confirmed the implications, including affordability and compliance with funding frameworks.

Alternative options considered

Option 1 - Direct grant funding to West Yorkshire FE colleges for delivery only.
This option would have enabled rapid mobilisation through established providers with existing facilities, staff and delivery experience. However, it was not preferred as it offered less flexibility to respond to emerging skills needs and limited opportunities to deliver specialist or niche provision that may not be available through the colleges' existing offer.

Option 2 - Procurement of entirely new provision through a competitive process.
This option was considered to potentially attract innovative delivery models and specialist providers. However, it was rejected due to the risk of procurement delays, reduced pace of delivery, uncertainty around provider readiness and quality, and the potential duplication of existing provision already available through West Yorkshire colleges.