A leading local College has stepped-up its string of multi-million-pound facilities investments with a new £1.7 million state-of-the-art redevelopment of its Construction teaching spaces.
Truro and Penwith College is due to start the works at its Truro College campus over February Half Term having been awarded £1.2 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and a further £500,000 from the Department for Education’s (DfE) Local Skills Improvement Fund.
The new industry-leading facilities will welcome the College’s full-time learners and apprentices from September 2024, with final completion set for March 2025.
The College’s Construction learners are already finding their futures thanks to links and recent visits to Truro’s Langarth Garden Village development just outside of the College, that is expected to offer 25-years of work for Construction professionals with the build of up to 3,500 new homes as part of Cornwall’s latest sustainable community.
Truro College has previously benefited from nearly £400,000 of investment from the DfE’s Strategic Development Fund allowing it to expand teaching space in Construction in response to a surge in demand from young people wishing to take advantage of its industry expert teaching and embark on quality careers in the sector.
Previous investment also introduced future-focussed Retrofit and Renewables facilities to prepare learners for current and future building standards after Cornwall’s Construction employers joined the College to establish industry need through its newly established Construction Advisory Panel.
The new £1.7 million redevelopment will upgrade these spaces to increase capacity further and create a future-proof, state-of-the-art facility to meet the current and future needs of Cornwall’s Construction industry.
The announcement comes just two months after the College was selected by the DfE to lead a £2.5 million investment in Cornwall from the Local Skills Improvement Fund, where Truro and Penwith will receive support from Cornwall College, Cornwall Marine Network and Focus Training to deliver state-of-the-art 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 FE Colleges across the UK to have been awarded ‘Apprenticeship Expert’ status by the DfE just last November, allowing it to work even closer with both employers and the DfE to develop future-focused training and routes into industry.
Martin Tucker, Principal at Truro and Penwith College, commented: “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”.
