More than half of colleges in England have waiting lists for construction courses amid growing demand and continued capacity constraints, a new survey has found.<\/p>\n
Fifty-six per cent of colleges reported having waiting lists for construction-related programmes in 2025\/26, according to an enrolment survey by the Association of Colleges (AoC) enrolment survey.<\/p>\n
This was the highest proportion recorded across all subjects identified as priority areas under the government\u2019s Industrial Strategy.<\/p>\n
The report said: “There have been persistent capacity constraints in high-demand sectors like construction and engineering where colleges face acute staffing and space shortages which have limited enrolment growth despite strong demand.”<\/p>\n
The report found that construction has seen sustained growth in full-time enrolments, apprenticeships and adult education, but colleges are increasingly unable to meet demand due to staffing shortages and a lack of teaching space.<\/p>\n
Among 16 to 18-year-olds, 77 per cent of colleges reported significant increases in construction enrolments.<\/p>\n
However, 60 per cent said they had to cap numbers or close courses because they lacked the physical or human resources to expand provision.<\/p>\n
Apprenticeship delivery faced similar constraints.<\/p>\n
While 35 per cent of colleges reported growth in construction-related apprenticeships, nearly one third (32 per cent) said they had to limit places or suspend courses due to capacity pressures.<\/p>\n
Demographic growth was cited by 68 per cent of respondents as the main driver of increased enrolments, while more than half pointed to the impact of the 2025 GCSE results.<\/p>\n
Colleges also linked higher interest in construction training to conditions in the local labour market and the availability of work-based routes such as apprenticeships.<\/p>\n
Despite the sharp rise in interest, the AoC warned that demand is outpacing colleges\u2019 ability to expand provision.<\/p>\n
Most courses with growing enrolments, including electrical, engineering and health and social care, were also among those most affected by capacity limits.<\/p>\n
The survey collected responses from 105 providers, representing 47 per cent of the further education sector in England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than half of colleges in England have waiting lists for construction courses amid growing demand and continued capacity constraints, a new survey has found. Fifty-six per cent of colleges reported having waiting lists for construction-related programmes in 2025\/26, according to an enrolment survey by the Association of Colleges (AoC) enrolment survey. This was the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129711,"featured_media":488864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[575],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-532710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-skills"],"yoast_head":"\n