A college in Cornwall has started work on a multimillion-pound redevelopment of its construction teaching facilities.
Truro and Penwith College is spending £1.7m on the project at its Truro campus after being awarded £1.2m from the government's 海角视频 Shared Prosperity Fund and another £500,000 from the Department for Education’s (DfE) Local Skills Improvement Fund.
The facilities will be used by the college’s full-time learners and apprentices from September 2024, with final completion set for March 2025.
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The redevelopment will upgrade the teaching space to increase capacity further, the college said, and meet the current and future needs of Cornwall’s construction industry.
Martin Tucker, principal at Truro and Penwith College, said: “The college is thrilled to continue its work to support the needs of Cornish industry, while offering an unrivalled learning experience and career opportunities for young people with this latest multi-million-pound development.
“This project is further evidence of our commitment to future-focused training as we support students to constantly look, reach and go further. The investment not only provides our students and industry expert teaching teams with cutting-edge facilities but will ensure Cornwall’s construction industry has access to industry-ready skills for many years to come”.
Truro College previously received nearly £400,000 from the DfE’s Strategic Development Fund, which it used to expand its construction teaching space in response to a surge in demand for its courses.
The college also used previous funding to introduce retrofit and renewables facilities, which it says are used to prepare students for current and future building standards after Cornwall’s construction employers joined the college's newly established Construction Advisory Panel.
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The latest funding announcement comes just two months after the college was selected by the DfE to lead a £2.5m investment in Cornwall from the Local Skills Improvement Fund. Truro and Penwith will receive support from Cornwall College, Cornwall Marine Network and Focus Training to deliver training and facilities in modern methods of construction, heat pump technologies, engineering and boatbuilding across the county.
Truro and Penwith College is also one of only five further education Colleges across the 海角视频 to have been awarded ‘Apprenticeship Expert’ status by the DfE last November.