INVESTING IN THE SKILLS AND TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE

NEWCASTLE AND STAFFORD COLLEGES GROUP (NSCG) are looking forward to welcoming students to their brand new Skills and Innovation Centre at Stafford College this autumn.

Work on the £28m facility (above left) is set to wrap up over summer in time to welcome new and existing students to the state-ofthe-art extension to the main campus on Victoria Square, Stafford. Construction and skills programmes, which are currently run from the Palmbourne campus, will move to the main site and will benefit from leading-edge equipment including industry-standard construction, engineering and motor vehicle facilities. The 7,500m 2, three-storey facility will also include a 300-seat auditorium, a four-court sports hall and high-spec gym.

NSCG currently offers a variety of pathways in construction and engineering with courses including bricklaying, carpentry, painting and decorating, design, surveying and planning for construction, electrical installation, hybrid motor vehicle technology, engineering in motorsports and HNC/HND’s in engineering with practical, technical and academic qualifications at all levels.

Learners can choose from A Levels, T Levels, BTEC’s, City & Guilds and Apprenticeships and from September 2023 a number of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) at levels 4 and 5 will also be launching in the specialisms of digital technology.

Rated Ofsted ‘Outstanding’, NSCG also benefits from strong working relationships with a wide range of employers across Staffordshire to ensure their learners are equipped with higher-level futurefacing skills and the knowledge to enable them to close the skills gaps in important sectors including construction, engineering and manufacturing. Adding to this, the college is excited to announce plans are beginning to move at speed with the development of the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology (IoT).

With a consortium of partners, led by NSCG, the £16m IoT (above right) will bring together key industry, education and research opportunities to the county and will see employers and academia working together to widen participation in targeted STEM areas.

With a proposed completion date of December 2024, key education providers and employers – including Keele University, Burton and South Derbyshire College, Shrewsbury Colleges Group, Axia Solutions, Siemens, Moog Aircraft Group, Dell, Hitachi Energy and St Modwen Logistics – will work collaboratively with NSCG to deliver a curriculum focused on developing education and technical training in the construction, engineering, manufacturing, digital and health sectors.

• For more information visit www.nscg.ac.uk or call 01785 223 800. To discover more about the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology and how you can get involved, email iot@nscg.ac.uk