A project designed to help tackle the national skills shortage in the construction industry has been launched - with the first batch of recruits including those on day release from prison.

The ‘skills hub’ has been unveiled by the team behind the Lower Thames Crossing - the proposed £9 billion tunnel linking east of Gravesend with Essex.

Its future currently hangs in the balance after a decision on whether to grant the scheme the green light was delayed from this month until May 2025.

In the meantime, the ambitious project, spearheaded by National Highways, has teamed up with the Maidstone-based Gallagher Group - which will use one of its quarry sites as a base - and Flannery Plant Hire to provide work-based training courses.

They include men and women already in the construction industry and keen to up-skill and those reachiing the end of their jail terms.

As part of the scheme, former Employment Secretary Lord David Blunkett has been recruited as its independent skills and education advisor.

He explained: “It’s no secret there is a national shortage of skills across the country which poses a significant challenge to economic growth. The Lower Thames Crossing Skills Hubs will break down barriers to opportunity by tackling skills shortages today, and by forging a pathway to a high-skills economy, and resilient future for the construction industry in Kent, Essex, and the region.”

The skills hub says it “seeks to break down employment barriers for local people including prison leavers, long-term unemployed, and women returners” by offering free training “whilst being affordable for businesses”.

More than 20 people will take part in the pilot, including six men and women on day release from Stanford Hill, in Sheppey, and East Sutton Park, near Maidstone, prisons in Kent.

Once completed, they will gain a Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) card ready to work on site, along with guaranteed job interviews through Gallagher’s and Flannery’s supply chains. Other attendees, who are already in local employment, will gain site supervisor qualifications enabling them to progress into more senior roles.

If the pilot proves a success, a series of similar hubs will roll out across Kent and Essex in 2025 in partnership with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), local education providers and the project’s supply chain.

Sean Connor, managing director of Gallagher Group said: “Kent is calling out for better training prospects. When we’re putting our workforce on training now, it often means sending them across the country wasting extra time and costs. The Skills Hubs will offer a huge opportunity for businesses like ours, but also SMEs across the area with little to no cost for upskilling their workforce.”

Amy Dixon, governor for East Sutton Park Prison and Young Offender Institution in Sutton Valence, added: “It's so important for people leaving prison to have meaningful opportunities to be able to move on and succeed. These invaluable skills programmes give people the tools, qualification, and experience they need to build a better future for themselves and our communities.”

A decision on the Lower Thames Crossing is expected from the Transport Minister on May 23, 2025. If given the go-ahead, it will take six years to build and open in 2032.