Redcar and Cleveland College aims to produce more engineers
Nov 30 2009 by Karen McLauchlan, Evening Gazette
A £3.5M extension to a Teesside college, due to open next September, will focus on producing more process engineers for the chemical sector.
The Higher Education Centre at Redcar and Cleveland College, which was green-lighted by planners last week, comes just a year after the new campus opened its doors and will enable students to study degree courses.
A collaboration between the college and two key sponsors, The Sir William Turner Trust and Teesside University, the new building will allow the college to concentrate on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, which are central to Business and Skills Secretary Lord Mandelson’s policy for creating a new “technician class” to power Britain’s new manufacturing sector.
“The process industry, sustainability and renewables are key to the local economy,” said Gary Groom, college principal - who has also been appointed FE sector representative for the new STEM board at regional development agency One North East. “We already work closely with the National Skills Academy Process Industries. We want Redcar and Cleveland College to become a centre of excellence in renewables and sustainability.”
Mr Groom said planning permission had been granted for the project with a contractor due to be appointed on December 8. Work will get underway before Christmas.
Professor Graham Henderson, vice chancellor of Teesside University, said: “The college is one of our most important and valued partners and we very much look forward to the conclusion of this exciting collaboration”
Peter Southeran, chairman of the Sir William Turner Foundation, added: “The Sir William Turner Foundation has been supporting education in Redcar for over 300 years. Our support for Redcar and Cleveland College’s Higher Education Centre development is a continuation of this work.”
The centre will cater for the growing number of students who are studying higher education courses at the college and will feature a 250-seat lecture theatre and learning resource facilities.
David Gamble, 20, who is studying for a BTEC in operations and maintenance at the college, is hoping to study for a Higher National Certificate in engineering at the HE centre from next September. “I’m really looking forward to the HE centre opening because it will have excellent facilities for us to work with, and it will be very close to my sponsor employer, SABIC. My ultimate aim is to get a degree, so the HE centre will help me achieve that.”
The college has also unveiled further plans for growth. Phase three - an extension to the main college building - is likely to be developed in the next three to five years. The college is also working with Redcar and Cleveland Council to develop an Enterprise Gateway project - which will include incubator and move on workspaces for new businesses as well as enterprise skills training. The college already has a nationally acknowledged reputation for encouraging enterprise among young people.
