EDUCATION
Shining light - Redcar and Cleveland College student Alfie Breckon with Grant Glendinning , group principal and CEO of the Etc .
years , bricklaying and motor vehicle , funded in part by the Department for Education ’ s T Level Capital Funding grant .
The campus in Thornaby now includes a brand-new hair and beauty salon and nail bar , with the latest industry-standard equipment and open to external clients ; an ambulance bay and hospital ward complete with life-sized interactive mannequins that can simulate a medical emergency and a nursery and elderly living care zone .
The college ’ s motor vehicle workshop has more than doubled in size and incorporates some of the latest technology including a full electric car training rig and a radar and camera calibration kit .
At Bede Sixth Form students are now reaping the benefits of a brand-new £ 2.4m annexe , making room for more learners at the college in Billingham .
Net zero focus - Simulated carbon capture training rig at Redcar and Cleveland College ’ s Clean Energy Education Hub .
Primarily funded by the DfE ’ s Post-16 Capacity Fund , the annexe incorporates new classrooms and break-out spaces in a threestorey self-contained facility designed to complement the existing building on Marsh House Avenue .
At Redcar and Cleveland College , a £ 3.3m investment in facilities , in part through the T Level Capital Funding grant , resulted in new workshops , high tech specialist engineering equipment , a revamped health care wing and early years nursery .
Then there is the £ 3.2m Clean Energy Education Hub , created to equip people with the skills needed for future green jobs and made possible with funding from the Town Deal Fund for Redcar .
The hub is crammed full of some of the latest technology needed to train people to meet the demands of the growing renewable and low carbon sector , including a simulated carbon capture training rig , designed and built to train the next generation of net zero engineers , and believed to be a UK college first .
Following such a massive transformation you might forgive the group for taking a breath , but the developments don ’ t stop there .
Plans have been unveiled for a new £ 14.7m purpose-built NETA Training centre in Thornaby to enhance the delivery of engineering and construction training in the borough , made possible with £ 4.5m from the Thornaby Town Deal Fund delivered in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council .
NETA will also head up a £ 4.7m All Access Academy announced at Redcar and Cleveland College , along with a new welding facility with funding from the Levelling Up partnership fund .
And the college is working with Hydrasun and fellow Tees Valley colleges on the development of a modular hydrogen refuelling facility , made possible with £ 286,000 hydrogen hub transport funding secured from the Tees Valley mayor and combined authority .
For Alfie , and students like him , the foresight for delivering training for future skills will no doubt put him a step ahead when he comes to join the jobs market . Indeed , as a bp scholar , Alfie and his classmates have already caught the attention of the industrial giant , which , when it comes to their employment prospects , can only be a good thing .
Now moving into their second year , the scholars have spoken at employer forums , presentations and regional panel events about their ambitions , both for themselves and the Tees Valley . Alfie was even one of three scholars to meet the secretary of state for education during a recent visit to the region .
“ You shouldn ’ t say no to opportunities ,” said the 17-year-old from the coastal town of Saltburn . “ And I am getting so many opportunities as part of this course . I am over the moon .
“ This is my future , if I don ’ t take up these chances now , I might regret it later in life . It ’ s all about getting a foot in the door .”
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