Association of Colleges 'pleased' with Budget's training plan

15:40 27th April 2009

The Association of Colleges has said that it is pleased by the government's Budget proposals to invest in a training plan for young people.

In a move that could see an increase in those taking IT courses, funding will create an extra 54,000 places for teenagers on training schemes and £300 million to pick up the college building programme, the organisation told the Times Education Supplement (TES).

David Collins, president of the Association of Colleges, told the TES: "We are very pleased that the government has been able to find extra money in the present circumstances, although clearly many colleges will be disappointed that their plans will not be able to be funded."

Alistair Darling’s Budget also allocated £1.2 billion to ensure that every 18 to 24-year-old who has been out of work for 12 months or over is guaranteed a job, work placement or access to a training programme.

The chancellor of the exchequer said: "I am also determined that we do even more to protect young people from the damaging impact of long-term unemployment."

He said if the government failed to do this then Britain’s young people would find themselves "abandoned" and on the "scrapheap".

Meanwhile, a virtual training centre is to be opened at a University of Manchester site in Warrington. The new facility will concentrate on the field of material chemistry.