Government unveils plans to upskill thousands of working adults across the UK

The government has announced the roll out 65 courses designed to upskill and or retrain thousands of adults across the UK.

Sixty-five short and modular courses will start to roll out from later this month at 10 Institutes of Technology (IoTs) across England, including the North East, London, and Yorkshire, in sought-after STEM subjects.

This will include courses such as artificial intelligence, digitisation of manufacturing, digital construction, agricultural robotics, and cyber security.

The courses will be a blend of classroom and remote online study, and will vary in length from 50 to 138 hours to give more adults flexibility in how and when they learn.

The programmes will be available to working adults aged 19 and over, with priority given to those employed locally to the IoT, in related industries such as digital or healthcare.

The IoTs work in partnership with local employers to ensure courses address existing skills gaps, meaning employees from both large and SME businesses will be able to gain in demand new skills or retrain.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Michelle Donelan MP said: “Making sure more people can train and develop at any stage of their life to secure high skilled, high paid jobs is at the heart of our plans.

“These fantastic new courses will open up more training alternatives for adults, address skills gaps in our economy and level up opportunities across the country.

Separately, over 100 further and higher education providers have also been awarded a share of £18m to invest in new equipment, such as virtual reality goggles, therapeutic play equipment for children, and air quality testing equipment that will support them to offer more higher technical training.

The funding is designed to boost links with local businesses in key sectors such as digital, construction and healthcare.