Major investment boost
Tue, 22 July 2014
Tameside College’s VisionTameside project, the joint venture with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, has received further financial backing today through the Greater Manchester Growth Deal. The Growth Deal is worth almost £7m towards the College’s three-phase development plan, VisionTameside. The funding supports the development of the Advanced Skills Centre in Ashton Town Centre, in partnership with Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, and phase 3, the redevelopment of the Beaufort Road campus. It will provide funding for specialist advanced equipment for the new Advanced Engineering Centre which completes in September 2015.
The Growth Deal for Greater Manchester, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, aims to create economic growth for the region, but it also specifically identifies the need to ‘enhance further education facilities’ in Tameside. The College will receive the funding from both Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership and Central Government for Phases 1 and 3 of its planned developments. The additional funds will be invested into new equipment for learners studying engineering and computing to make them both ready for industry and ready for Higher Education. Local high-tech manufacturers will be able to take advantage of the new facilities for staff training, skill development and for support services, such as rapid prototyping.
The centre of Ashton-under-Lyne will continue to be transformed through this investment to support the establishment of a new Leisure and Tourism, and Business and Management facility. Peter Ryder, Tameside College Principal was delighted and commented; “This is a tremendous boost for Tameside College, the VisionTameside Project, and most importantly for the young people of Tameside. We want to provide learners with the best facilities possible to complement the teaching that they receive here, so they don’t have to travel far to receive an excellent education for their next step into Higher Education or employment.”