Construction Skills Centre reaches ‘key’ milestone
Fri, 26 November 2021
Tameside College’s brand new Construction Skills Centre is officially complete after a key handover ceremony.
Jackie Moores, principal and CEO of the college and Joshua Heavens, senior build manager for the project at Willmott Dixon attended the ceremony, which marks the completion of the building and hand over of the project to the college.
The £11m project, which is part of the wider Vision Tameside initiative to provide high quality facilities for students in the local area, includes state of the art learning environments for the next generation of bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, painter and decorators and civil engineers.
The centre has been designed in consultation with construction employers and aims to bridge the skills gap in the industry. According to industry body CITB, an additional 217,000 new workers will be needed to meet demand by 2025.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which has administers education and skills in the area, provided 50% of the funding for the new project.
Vision Tameside will include further redevelopment of the college estate, including a new animal management centre, automotive and hybrid technologies centre, a T Level health studies specialist area, a 5G football pitch and much more.
Jackie Moores, principal and CEO at Tameside College, said: “The development of Tameside College’s campus has been ongoing since 2016 with the opening of the Advanced Technologies Centre, and Tameside One. Now that we have the Construction Skills Centre in our possession our students can begin to learn skills for the industry, in the best facilities available.”
“The new centre will not only benefit our students, employers will also benefit by getting the next generation of highly skilled employees who will have extended knowledge of the trade. There will also be increased links with employers with the opening of the building.”
Anthony Dillon, Managing Director for Willmott Dixon in the North, said: “We have now handed the keys over to Tameside College, which means our part in the campus development is almost complete. We are proud to play our part in creating a pathway for the next generation of construction professionals to gain the skills and experience, our industry and our region needs. We look forward to seeing construction students develop their skills and wish them every success for the future.”
Councillor Andrew Western, GMCA lead for Digital, Work, Skills and Clean Air, said: Tameside College’s new Construction Skills Centre will be a driving force in training and upskilling Greater Manchester’s next generation of construction workers. Employers have informed of us of the need for more skilled workers in the industry and this fantastic new centre will help to bridge the skills gap, while providing new opportunities for many across the city-region.”
To find out more about the Construction Skills Centre and construction courses at Tameside College, visit the college website www.tameside.ac.uk