Hercules Construction Academy, the training division of AIM-listed Hercules PLC, has secured new funded training awards worth approximately £310,000, been appointed to the West Midlands Combined Authority's Preferred Provider List, expanded its HM Prison education programme from three to seven establishments and launched commercial pilot programmes with major infrastructure clients.

Hercules PLC (AIM: HERC) is a Cirencester-headquartered technology-enabled labour supply, civil projects and construction services group, founded in 2008 by CEO Brusk Korkmaz. For FY2025, Hercules reported record revenue of £121.2 million, up 19%, and underlying EBITDA of £6.4 million, up 34%. H1 FY2026 revenue reached £59.2 million, up 8%, though underlying EBITDA fell to £1.7 million from £2.6 million as the group absorbed acquisition costs, NIC increases and technology investment.

The group deploys approximately 1,230 workers across 540 project locations for 65 clients. Hercules Construction Academy has trained more than 2,500 individuals since its establishment over two years ago.

The structural driver is the UK infrastructure capital programme creating a skills throughput requirement that existing training infrastructure cannot meet. The UK government has committed £700 to £750 billion into construction and infrastructure over the next decade, with Hercules already supplying labour to Sizewell C nuclear plant.

That pipeline creates predictable, long-duration demand for trained construction operatives that commercially funded training academies can supply, particularly through WMCA-funded programmes and devolved skills budgets, without depending entirely on private sector commissioning.

The prison education programme expansion from three to seven HM Prison establishments is the strategically significant element. Construction pre-employment training delivered inside prison populations has both government funding support and measurable recidivism reduction outcomes, creating a dual commercial and social value proposition that strengthens Hercules's position on public sector frameworks where social value weighting increasingly influences contract awards.

For the sector, the Hercules Academy model, embedding workforce training within a labour supply business to create integrated workforce development and deployment, is the structure that large infrastructure programme clients are increasingly seeking from preferred supply chain partners.

Source: morningstar.com / investegate.co.uk / constructionwave.co.uk / herculesplc.com