Building work starts on Bath College’s new construction skills centre

Building work has started on a new state-of-the-art construction skills centre at Bath College which will be ready for students in September 2017.
 
The purpose-built facility at Bath College’s Somer Valley Campus in Radstock is an exciting new step for the college, and means that all construction trades will be taught under one roof.
 
New workshops will cater for 500 students and apprentices studying bricklaying, construction, carpentry and stonemasonry, as well as plumbing, electrical installation and refrigeration.

To mark the start of the building work, Bath College Principal Laurel Penrose joined project manager Miranda Hill, from the construction company Midas, to take part in a sod-cutting ceremony.
 
She said: “This investment, supported by the West of England Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP), demonstrates the college’s commitment to enhance student opportunities and support local employers.
 
“It is envisaged the centre will become a regional centre of excellence for the construction industry, creating a talent pool for employers to find their future workforce.”
 
Designs for the two-storey centre, by BBA Architects, were approved last year and, after archaeological surveys undertaken at the end of 2016, building work was started at the beginning of January.
 
Applications are open for students who would like to be part of the first cohort learning a construction trade at the new centre.
 
Places are available for full-time vocational courses for 16 to 18-year-olds, as well as apprenticeships. Higher education courses will be taught at Bath College’s City Centre Campus.
 
Daisy Walsh, Head of Department for Technology at Bath College, said: “The facilities will be second to none, it will be state-of-the-art.
 
“It’s all about building students’ confidence in their trade and giving them access to the best training and technical expertise.
 
“Students are taught by specialists in their field and we have fantastic links with employers who work with us to provide training opportunities.
 
“All our courses come with the option to study as an apprentice and they have a very strong reputation. Our students achieve very well, they progress onto jobs and continue to study on our higher education programmes.”