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Education and Skills
College showcases new £13 million campus Stratford-upon-Avon College has completed its £13 million redevelopment project.
seating and areas for relaxation. A new café and social space can also be found at the centre of campus.
Refurbishment work has taken place in the College’s A and B Blocks to improve existing facilities and upgrade equipment. A new gym has been created, featuring a range of fitness equipment, and a new library and open access computer room have also been introduced for students.
Principal Dr Rebecca Gater said: “We have invested £13 million in redeveloping the campus. This project has taken four years across five phases. The buildings have been significantly refurbished, with the most recent phase being the landscaping of what we call the ‘green heart’, and this has been developed with very careful consideration to the environment, sustainability and the welfare of our college community.
As part of the Government’s Skills Development Fund project, the College also secured funding to update the theatres with industry-standard equipment – including making one of the theatre’s gantry areas fully accessible for wheelchair users – one of only a few in the UK to offer this inclusivity. New TV and radio studios were also created, which have already been a big hit with digital media production and TV production bootcamp students. Plumbing and electrical installation workshops have been equipped with training bays that enable students to mount test setups for plumbing installations of domestic items such as sinks, baths and
“The campus redevelopment aligns closely with the regional skills agenda. Through diversification of the curriculum that we offer here, we are training the workforce of the future to develop skills that are in short supply throughout Warwickshire and beyond. immersion heaters. These training bays feature a range of new equipment, tools and materials that would be used in the industry by professional contractors. Furthermore, the campus now includes a new ‘green
heart’. With sustainability high on the College’s agenda, a new green space was created that students and staff can enjoy. Featuring newly planted trees and lawns, the area incorporates plenty of outdoor
“We truly believe that Stratford-uponAvon has the wow factor in abundance.” The College will hold its next open event in March for those who want to experience and explore the new-look campus.
College group to create a £900,000 low carbon construction centre A Midlands college group has been awarded £900,000 to create a new facility in Rugby focusing on low carbon construction to help close the skills gap and support economic growth across the region. WCG (Warwickshire College Group) is set to launch a Low Carbon Construction Centre at Rugby College after being awarded £900,000 of Local Skills Improvement Funds (LSIF) by the Department for Education. The centre will focus on low carbon techniques and future housing, specialising in heat pumps and solar, to support regional skills needs. It will be based in an existing building on the college site, which is currently not in use, and is anticipated to officially open in September 2024. The centre will initially deliver short courses for small businesses before expanding into apprenticeships and then integrating into WCG’s full time Further Education courses. WCG is now calling on businesses in the construction industry to get in touch to help shape the centre’s facilities as well as contribute to the development of the curriculum. Alan May, Director of Apprenticeships at WCG, said: “We are extremely pleased to be awarded this funding by the Department for Education. “As we move towards Net Zero there is an increasing focus on low carbon construction, for example the installation of ground-source and air-source heat pumps, and we will be ensuring that both current and future workforces have the skills that they need to deliver this.
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“Our new facility will involve the repurposing of an existing building, and the Rugby College site already has the infrastructure in place for a ground source heat pump which we will be using for demonstrations. “We are now looking to collaborate with construction businesses, ensuring that they are involved from the start of the process and that the specific needs of the industry help shape not only the facility itself, but what skills are delivered there. “We’ll also be looking to engage with employers when the facility is open to act as subject experts and deliver guest lectures. “The funding will also be used to develop e-learning which we will create in conjunction with other colleges across the region to ensure it meets the needs of the whole of the West Midlands.”
The LSIF funding is in response to the region’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) which was developed by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, working in conjunction with Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Black Country Chamber of Commerce, alongside a host of skills providers and firms, and with strategic oversight from West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The Department for Education awarded £10,304,523 of LSIF to the region – the highest amount for any area of the UK. Construction businesses who would like to help shape the new Low Carbon Construction Centre at Rugby College are asked to contact the Employer Services team at employers@wcg.ac.uk
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