College building projects worth £500m are to get underway after a cash injection this week from the government.
The investment comprises £232.7m of state funding, made available through the third and fourth rounds of the College Capital Investment Fund (CCIF), plus over £250m of matched investment from the colleges themselves.
The money will be used to build state-of-the-art science and engineering facilities at colleges in greatest need of help, or those that can best support growth in the economy.
A total of £550m is being made available through CCIF between 2013 and 2015, taking the government’s overall capital investment in FE colleges since May 2010 to over £1.5bn. It comes as the school leaving age is raised from 16 to 17 in September 2014 and to 18 the year afterwards.
"For Britain to compete, and for everyone to reach their potential, we need the very best training centres, staffed with the very best trainers."
Vince Cable, business secretary
Announcing the investment, business secretary Vince Cable said: “Boosting the quality and availability of training is fundamental to building a stronger economy, with skilled jobs spread across all regions of the UK. For Britain to compete, and for everyone to reach their potential, we need the very best training centres, staffed with the very best trainers. This is why I can confirm that a further £330m will also be available for skills capital investment through the Local Growth Fund in 2016-17 to support local priorities.”
Projects being funded under CCIF phase 3 include Dudley College’s £1.7m new learning environment comprising a multi-use workshop/lecture theatre, a Mathematics Innovation Centre, an e-learning resource area, a book repository and a refectory and training kitchen.
Leeds City College will undertake a £10m centre for mechanical engineering designed to address higher level skills shortages in mechanical engineering and develop skills in the low carbon economy. It will house facilities for motor vehicle, engineering, manufacturing and electrical provision plus a new hall to accommodate a Learning Resource Centre and Student Services.
Meanwhile, Runshaw College will build new training facilities for engineering and science in direct response to the Lancashire Local Enterprise Partnership’s strategy to meet a need for engineers in the county.
Others on the list include: Barnet and Southgate College (£15.3m); Barnsley College (£3.9m); Blackpool and Fylde College (£5m); Brooksby Melton College (£6.3m); Bury College (£7.7m); Carlisle College (£2.3m); Chelmsford College (£3m); Guildford College of Further and Higher Education (£8.9m); Kendal College (£3.3m); Nelson and Colne College (£3.7m), NESCOT (North East Surrey College of Technology) (£21m); Newcastle-under-Lyme College (£4.2m); Northbrook College, Sussex (£12.6m); Plumpton College (£2.6m); Redbridge College (£7.3m); Sheffield College (£15.6m); Tresham College of Further and Higher Education (£16.3m); and Worthing College (£2.5m).
