Healthcare support workers will also make up part of this scheme that adds an extra 30,000 apprenticeship starts across this Parliament, the Education department says.

The move aims to boost the supply of skilled workers needed to build 1.5 million houses over the next five years, as Labour has pledged.

The government’s £3bn apprenticeship budget includes:

• 14 million of adult skills funding for construction to be devolved to local mayors for next academic year, expected to support up to 5,000 additional adult learners
• £100m over four years to expand Construction Skills Bootcamps
• Ten Technical Excellence Colleges specialising in construction skills, opening in September 2025

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson (pictured) says: “A skilled workforce is the key to steering the economy forward, and today we’re backing the next generation by giving young people more opportunities to learn a trade, earn a wage and achieve and thrive.

“But everyone has a role to play in a thriving economy, and we’re taking our responsibility seriously providing more routes into employment, it’s now the responsibility of young people to take them.”

The department says part of the cost of these measures will be met by a 32% rise in the Immigration Skills Charge, which will deliver up to 45,000 additional training places to upskill the domestic workforce and reduce reliance on migration in priority sectors.

This charge, currently set at £1,000 a year for medium and large firms, is paid by businesses to sponsor a range of foreign employees under skilled worker visas.

This change is part of the Immigration White Paper published earlier this month.

In March, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Labour’s plan to train 60,000 bricklayers, electricians and carpenters over four years would cost £600m.