A new state-of-the-art training facility designed to build the next generation of construction talent has launched at Hermitage Quarry, near Maidstone, marking a significant investment in Kent’s skills infrastructure and a major step forward for the county’s construction and civil engineering sector.
The Kent Skills Hub is a partnership between Kent-based Gallagher Group – the South East’s leading aggregates, concrete, groundworks, civil engineering and property development business, the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Flannery Plant. Made possible through investment by Gallagher Group with matched funding from the Infrastructure Sector Skills Plan, the Hub combines hands-on training with the latest industry equipment alongside classroom-based theory, creating a comprehensive and accessible pathway into the construction sector.
The facility is deliberately targeted at those who face the greatest barriers to employment: young people classed as NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training), ex-offenders, veterans and college leavers looking to enter a skilled trade. It builds on the success of a pilot Skills Hub developed in conjunction with the Lower Thames Crossing project, scaling that model into a permanent, purpose-built resource for the region.
The launch comes at a critical moment for the industry. CITB’s Construction Workforce Outlook report estimates that around 240,000 additional workers will be needed across the UK by 2029, while the number of young people not in education, employment or training has recently surpassed one million nationally. Kent’s own construction pipeline, including major infrastructure projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing, makes closing this skills gap a pressing local priority.
Situated in the heart of Hermitage Quarry, the largest operating hard rock quarry in the South East, the Hub immerses trainees in a live working environment from day one. Surrounded by Gallagher’s 200-strong team and the day-to-day operations of heavy plant and machinery, trainees gain practical experience that goes well beyond traditional classroom learning. All training leads to industry-recognised qualifications and is designed to funnel participants directly into employment opportunities within the sector.
To extend its reach beyond the quarry site, a 15-metre mobile unit has been purchased which can be deployed to other locations across the region, providing training facilities for up to 20 students at a time. The Hub’s infrastructure has been thoughtfully resourced: the training facilities themselves have been repurposed from containers donated by the Barking Riverside development, with fit-out supported by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Skills Builder Programme.
The Kent Skills Hub also sits alongside a new EV fast-charging facility for HGVs, the largest of its kind in Kent, powered by 100% renewable energy generated on site. Trainees will gain hands-on experience of electric plant and machinery, including dumpers, rollers and diggers, giving them direct exposure to the technologies driving the industry’s transition to Net Zero.
Together, the Skills Hub and EV facility represent exactly the kind of forward-thinking, industry-led investment that is helping to position Kent as a county ready to meet the demands of a fast-evolving construction landscape, and to ensure its workforce is equipped to deliver it.
