A university degree course in laying concrete pavements and roads has been created in a bid to plug an impending gap in the workforce responsible for repairing the country's highways.

National Highways - formerly the Highways Agency - has launched the BSc Honours in Concrete Pavement and Construction Maintenance described as the first 'course of its kind' for specialising in pavement and highways design.

Over the next three years £400m is being spent on improving the UK's existing roads but there are concerns projects are at risk of not being finished successfully because an estimated 60% of the country's specialist concrete workforce will retire within the next 10 years.

The two-year part-time course has been drawn up in partnership with the University of Derby as part of efforts to plug the skills gap and potential vacancies that are being foreseen in the future workforce.

Mike Ambrose, from National Highways’ Concrete Roads Centre of Excellence, said: "As the current specialist concrete workforce begin to see out their careers we’re excited to begin upskilling and working with the next generation of engineers.

"This employer led programme, which is open to both National Highways and the supply chain staff, will help those people get on the pathway to becoming the future industry leaders."

The Concrete Pavement and Construction Maintenance course is not the first new qualification designed to reflect changes in society.

Courses in grape growing and vineyard management are now open to students keen to worth within the UK's expanding wine industry, Abertay University offers an Ethical Hacking degree, which describes itself as being at the forefront of cyber security, and a number of colleges and universities now offer official qualifications in Esports as more and more people turn to careers in the electronic gaming industry.

While there are also plans to open the country's first International Air and Space Training Institute in Newark to meet the growing demand for unique jobs in air and space industries.

Mark Osbaldeston, Head of the Centre for Mineral Products at the University of Derby, said the new concrete course was essential.

He explained: "The concrete roads programme is fundamental in ensuring the future success of our road networks, and this BSc Honours provision will help provide a continued supply of highly skilled individuals to the profession."

For more information about the course, which begins in January, and how to enrol click here.