The successful projects span green skills, back-to-work support and construction workforce development, each offering a fresh and practical approach to some of the UK’s most urgent skills challenges.

This marks the completion of the Foundation’s first funding cycle - an important step in realising a long-held ambition for NOCN Group. The Foundation, which launched in late 2025, comes at a critical moment for the UK skills system, where the transition to a greener, more digital economy demands new ideas, new partnerships and new ways of delivering learning.

The Skills Innovation Grant Programme was created as the Foundation’s first funding mechanism to support projects that test new solutions to three key challenges facing the sector: improving access to training and employment for NEET young people, accelerating high-quality green skills training, and using digital tools and technology in more innovative and impactful ways within learning and assessment. The nine funded projects reflect a wide range of approaches, from AI-driven literacy support to hands-on retrofit training and immersive VR environments.

Meet the 2026 NOCN Group Foundation Award Winners

City of Liverpool College — English Literacy Innovation
Piloting a personalised AI Literacy Assistant to support over 2,200 GCSE resit learners and improve foundational writing skills.

Bedford College — VR for Green Skills
Using immersive VR simulations to train learners in renewable energy installation and sustainable construction, boosting confidence and access to green careers.

Chameleon School of Construction — Green Skills & Retrofit Hub
Creating mobile retrofit training units and specialist teaching capacity to address the national shortage of retrofit professionals.

Handcrafted — A Hope and A Future
Delivering personalised training and employment pathways for care-experienced young people, blending NOCN qualifications with real work opportunities.

Volunteer It Yourself — Pickle Factory Retrofit
Engaging disadvantaged young people in hands-on retrofit work while upgrading a well-used community venue.

The Sheffield College — Eco House
Building an interactive low-carbon teaching environment and launching a Green Skills Advocate Programme to grow regional awareness of green careers.

HETA — Virtual IAG Mentors
Developing AI-generated virtual mentors to provide consistent, accessible careers guidance across the apprenticeship journey.

Frameworks Training — Modern Methods of Construction
Providing NEET young people with practical MMC training designed with a major contractor to meet real labour-market needs.

O’Halloran & O’Brien — Foundations to Futures
Offering a structured pre-employment pathway with CSCS preparation, onsite experience, and guaranteed interviews for unemployed adults and young people.

The Foundation’s first year has generated insights that will shape how future programmes are designed and delivered. It also enables deeper engagement with stakeholders across government and the wider skills sector as the Foundation develops its role as a catalyst for fresh thinking.

Commenting on the awards, Graham Hasting-Evans, CEO of NOCN Group, said:

“These nine projects reflect the ambition and creativity our sector needs. By supporting innovation that directly benefits learners and employers, the Foundation is helping to shape a stronger, fairer and more future-ready skills system. This first year is only the beginning.”

Stephen Evans, Chair of the NOCN Group Foundation Committee, said:

“This first grant cycle saw an impressive response, and we are delighted to award nine grants to projects that demonstrate real ambition, creativity and a commitment to delivering measurable impact for learners and communities. The quality of applications has set a high benchmark and made this first year truly inspiring.”