Technical Excellence Colleges

Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) news and thought leadership articles tag page, with articles and explainers on the Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTECs), DTECs (Defence Technical Excellence Colleges) and the 14 new TECs announced by the PM in the Autumn of 2025.

Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) are specialist Colleges in an occupational competency area. So far there are two types of Technical Excellence Colleges:

Construction Technical Excellence Colleges (CTECs)

and

Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs).

CTECs:

DfE is establishing 10 technical excellence colleges specialising in construction in the 2025 to 2026 academic year at a cost of £100 Million. This is one of the measures announced in Spring Statement 2025 to boost skills in construction, crucial for delivering the government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes and progress vital infrastructure projects.

The new Construction Technical Excellence Colleges are:

• Derby College Group, East Midlands
• West Suffolk College, East of England
• New City College, Greater London
• City of Sunderland College, North East
• Wigan and Leigh College, North West
• North Kent College, South East
• Exeter College, South West
• Bedford College, cross-regional
• Dudley College of Technology, West Midlands
• Leeds College of Building, Yorkshire and the Humber

Hub and Spoke Delivery Model.

These colleges will operate on a ‘hub and spoke’ model, working with local training providers and employers to boost training standards and share expertise.

Colleges appointed as CTECs are expected to have the capacity and capability to support providers across their region, so that the opportunities and benefits CTECs create are available to all learners without the need for extensive travel, and so that differing skills needs within each region are met.

Through this ‘hub and spoke’ delivery model, CTECs will partner with colleges and independent training providers across their region to share and embed the resources they develop – for example providing access to excellent professional development for teachers and cutting-edge specialist curricula.

Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs)

On the 8th September 2025,  five Defence Technical Excellence Colleges were announced, with a budget of £182 M, which is a part of the Defence Industrial Strategy.

New funding of £182 million will support a comprehensive package aimed at harnessing the skills needed for the future, from submarine engineers to specialist welders, and the cyber warfare specialists defence will need in the years to come.

The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) will support more opportunities for young people, help our Veterans into employment and equip the UK workforce with the expertise needed to meet the new era of threat set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), and the demands of a rapidly evolving defence sector to innovate at a wartime pace. The successful Defence TECs to be launched in 2026.

More TECs to Follow? 

Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder of FE News asked the Chair of Skills England, Phil Smith in an interview, if with the announcement of CTECs and then just after the industrial strategy, the mention of DTECs, if more Technical Excellence Colleges will follow to support Skills England’s Skills Priority areas.

PM Announces 14 more New Technical Excellence Colleges 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in his 30th September 2025 Labour Party Conference speech, announced 14 more Technical Excellence Colleges.

The PM announced that the 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges, will be focused on high-growth sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, and Digital, giving young people more choice over where and what they study. This builds on the 10 Technical Excellence Colleges already announced for Construction (CTECs) and five for Defence (DTECs).

So this will increase the number of Technical Excellence Colleges to 24.

This was a speech made announcing that two thirds of young people target to gain higher skills, either through university, further education or taking on a gold standard apprenticeship

The PM said that further detail will be set out in the upcoming Post-16 Skills White Paper.