Advanced Construction Training (ACT)
The ACT will stimulate digital innovation in the construction industry and will train and upskill the workforce to build homes, workplaces and infrastructures for Cheshire and Warrington. With a strategic focus on digital skills, alongside traditional construction methods, the ACT will support the construction industry’s need to increase the number of apprenticeship starts. In addition to the partner colleges and employers, the ACT will be accessible to other training providers and schools across Cheshire and Warrington.
How will it work?
The project will be centred on developing BIM, Solid Works, Auto Cad, Tekla and other digitalised systems to support growth in the construction, nuclear and allied industries and the need for digitally-skilled structural engineers and surveyors based with large employers.
What will it support?
The project will support the practical and commercial challenges faced by construction companies and support them to adopt digital and automated/ robotic construction techniques at pace, for example, augmented and virtual reality, digital scanning of land and mass production through digital routers.
What is the target?
The target is to build 127,000 additional homes by 2040, with planned development including £1 billion in non-housing construction and £753 million in new housing. Each local authority has ambitious targets to meet to deliver affordable housing to enable communities to grow and prosper. Digitalised building techniques will assist in the delivery of greater number of affordable homes, with reduced costs per unit as well as potential benefits from wider engagement with local suppliers who have been able to upskill through the ACT.