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Skills Minister Opens New £4.4M Construction Skills Hub in Norfolk
An official opening ceremony was held for the building on Thursday 13th March, attended by The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, Minister of State (Minister for Skills).
After 42 weeks, construction of the new Construction Skills Hub for City College Norwich has completed. An official opening ceremony was held for the building on Thursday 13th March, attended by The Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Malvern, Minister of State (Minister for Skills).
The new £4.4M building comprises of two floors and provides much-needed specialist workshop space for teaching, with a specific focus on electrical engineering and plumbing. This will enable the college to meet the strong demand for places on its T-Level courses, helping to bridge the significant skills gap currently facing the construction industry.
The workshops have been designed for maximum flexibility, allowing them to be adapted in the future as industry demand for skilled workers in Norfolk evolves.
The Construction Skills Hub was made possible thanks to a £4M investment from the Department for Education’s Post-16 Capacity Fund.
Skills Minister Jacqui Smith said: “Construction is at the heart of the government’s Plan for Change as a key sector to power economic growth as well as ensuring we meet our homebuilding targets and support people’s aspiration to own their own homes.
The industry is also pivotal to breaking down barriers to opportunity, and it was so gratifying to see this in action at the Construction Skills Hub at City College Norwich, which is giving businesses the workforce they need to power growth in the East of England and across the country.”
In addition to creating an inspiring internal environment, the new 1,200 m² building aims to provide a better connection between the campus’s existing construction buildings and the Digi-Tech Factory.
A larger footprint at first floor level enables a covered external area to the main entrance that promotes social interaction. Large picture windows at ground level and the prominent first floor corner provide views into the workshops to showcase the activity taking place within. The insulated metal cladding matches the aesthetic of the college’s Advanced Construction Engineering (ACE) Centre, which was refurbished by LSI Architects in 2022.
Director Matthew Clarke said: “Working on the Construction Skills Hub at City College Norwich has been a privilege because it is so much more than just a building; it’s a symbol of the opportunities that are out there for young people to gain hands-on experience in the construction industry.
As a project, it is so well aligned to our own belief as a practice in ‘growing our own’, by providing apprentices and trainees with the opportunities and support they need to thrive in their careers. We know that belief is shared by the rest of the project team too and that has translated into an outstanding new facility for City College Norwich.
Personally, the project has been a reminder of why we do what we do and we are extremely proud to have worked alongside the college, MJS Projects and the wider team on a project that will help to bridge the significant skills gap in our industry and inspire the next generation.”