Warwickshire College Group (WCG) is thrilled to announce it has successfully secured nearly £4.8m in grant funding from the Department for Education’s Construction Skills Capacity Fund. This major investment will fund a rapid and transformative expansion of the Pershore Construction Academy, scaling training capacity from 67 learners to over 275.
With significant growth in construction across Worcestershire, the expanded provision will directly support booming infrastructure and housing development across the region, including the 10,000-home development planned near Worcestershire Parkway Station.
The Academy was initially launched at the Pershore campus last September in 2025, operating out of disused landscaping barns following the strategic consolidation of provision from Evesham College. This new financial backing will now allow us to propel our construction training offer to the next level.
Sara-Jane Watkins, Principal and Chief Executive of Warwickshire College Group, commented:
“We are absolutely thrilled with this announcement. Securing this £4.8 million funding is truly game-changing for our Pershore College campus and allows us to respond aggressively to the considerable growth in construction we are seeing across Wychavon and the wider Worcestershire region.
We have been delighted to work alongside our local MPs, Nigel Huddleston and Dame Harriett Baldwin, who have offered fantastic support for this bid. We are also incredibly grateful for the collaboration with Wychavon District Council, the team behind the Worcestershire Local Skills Improvement Plan, Worcestershire County Council, and the Local Enterprise Partnership. Their shared vision has been instrumental in making this a reality.”
Currently, the Pershore Construction Academy offers full-time foundational training in carpentry, plumbing, and multiskills. While we do not yet offer Construction apprenticeships at Pershore, this DfE capacity funding will allow us to broaden our curriculum significantly to introduce a dedicated apprenticeship centre for all construction trades.
The expanded, industry-standard facilities will enable the introduction of critical new trades, including electrical, painting and decorating, brickwork, and groundworks. It will also pave the way for advanced progression routes, including T Levels and Higher Education pathways such as the HNC and HND in Construction Management.
Rather than embarking on carbon-intensive new builds, the project will focus on sustainable estate rationalisation. A disused 1,300 square metre machine workshop on the campus will be completely renovated into a dedicated, state-of-the-art academy building. Additionally, the adjacent Norbury Hostel will be transformed into the Pershore Construction Academy Apprenticeship Centre.
For more information on the Pershore Construction Academy and upcoming course enrolments, please visit the WCG website at: https://wcg.ac.uk/page/11/construction-and-the-built-environment