New Diplomas in Construction Available for 14 -19 Year Olds

Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson and Schools Minister Jim Knight today announced that up to 40,000 places on the first ever Diplomas will be available for young people from September 2008.

Courses in five areas, will be available for students aged 14 - 19 for the first new Diplomas in construction and the built environment; engineering; society, health and development; IT; and creative and media. These new qualifications will help students to progress towards skilled jobs and further and university education. Diplomas will therefore be available for the full ability range.

Today 145 groups of schools, colleges and training providers ('consortia') have been given the green light by ministers to offer places on Diploma courses to students in 97 local authority areas in England.

A further 197 consortia have been given provisional approval to deliver the new qualifications in September 2009. Other consortia will have the chance to apply again.

£90 million of central funding will help regional consortia to work up the detail of the new qualifications in each area. Ten consortia have been approved to deliver Diplomas in all five subject areas from 2008.

Secretary of State for Education and Skills Alan Johnson said: "Diplomas will be an attractive and flexible option for young people. They are just one part of our plans to encourage more young people to stay in education and training.”