Wigan & Leigh College named by DfE as one of Ten Technical Excellence Colleges

We are delighted to have secured Technical Excellence College status for Construction, one of only 10 across the country.

We have been named as the Construction TEC for the North-West by the Department for Education following a rigorous selection process and will work to drive college and employer partnerships at both a local and regional level. The TEC designation builds on the work of our Construction Centre of Excellence, our specialised curriculum offer and extensive work with employers.

The TEC programme was announced in the Spring Statement to boost skills in construction, crucial for delivering the government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes and progress vital infrastructure projects. We’ll support the delivery of construction skills across the region, working with partners to ensure that all learners can access local, high quality construction training.

Principal, Anna Dawe said: “We are very proud to be named as the Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC) for the North-West. It’s a testament to the work undertaken by our construction staff and students. This accolade really resonates for a college that started life as a Technical Mining College over 100 years ago, in a borough that now has double the national rate of employment in the construction sector. 

“Construction is pivotal to the economy of Wigan Borough, Greater Manchester and the wider region so the CTEC programme is a real opportunity to provide a strong, co-ordinated response to the skills challenges facing the sector.”

Central to our CTEC proposal is coalition and collaboration. We’ve invited formal partners Nelson & Colne College Group in East Lancashire, and Blackpool & The Fylde College, on the Fylde coast to work with us in delivering the CTEC programme objectives and we see this driving a collaborative network of activity across the northwest.

“There’s excellent construction training and education taking place across the region and a willingness from employers to inform and contribute to the skills agenda. There are strong, well established college partnerships such as Greater Manchester Colleges, The Lancashire Colleges & Association of Liverpool City Region Colleges, and we need to harness this to ensure that every locality has access to high quality, industry recognised construction training,” added Anna.