A £4MILLION further education engineering campus is set to open in Worcester to help ‘close the city’s skills gap’ after the Government announced funding for the facility.
The campus, which will form part of the Heart of Worcestershire College, is expected to start running courses from 2019.
Funding for the facility was announced in Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Spring Budget last Wednesday (March 8).
The £4million is coming from the £17.5million of funding earmarked for Worcestershire from the New Local Growth Fund.
It’s expected 300 students a year will be trained at the engineering campus.
Welcoming the announcement, Worcester’s MP Robin Walker said the new campus will go ‘a long way’ in closing the city’s skill gap.
“This is brilliant news for Worcester.
“I gave a speech in 2013 saying I wanted the Government to invest more in engineering and further education.
“Now we will have the top-class training facilities that our young people need to succeed and prosper in the modern job market.
“The biggest challenge from businesses is that they have got jobs, but have not always been able to find enough people with the right skills locally – this funding will go a long way to closing the skills gap in the city.”
Stuart Laverick, Principal of Heart of Worcestershire College, said: “This is a great opportunity to raise the level of technical skills in the County to a whole new level and this investment will create a world class, industry-relevant facility that meets the challenges of the 21st century.
“We have built a strong reputation as a college that provides leading technical courses and this new facility will further strengthen our reputation.”
