£4 million for Bridgwater's Energy Skills Centre
17 November 2009
Bridgwater College is set to receive more than £4 million in
funding to launch the South West Energy Skills Centre, a specialist
nuclear skills training centre.
The unique 'Energy Centre' will be the South West flagship
delivery centre for the National Skills Academy for Nuclear and
will provide high quality specialist training facilities in
science, engineering and specialist construction to meet industry
standards for a skilled, competent and safe nuclear workforce.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the South West RDA
have confirmed that they will be investing £2.25 million and £2
million respectively. This will complement the £3.6m from
Bridgwater College and Sedgemoor District Council's provision of
land.
Malcolm Gillespie, Regional Director for the LSC South West,
said: "This is significant news for the region and will bring a
wide range of opportunities to help the economy prepare for the
upturn by ensuring we have the right skills and training in place
to support the nuclear industry.
"As with other sectors, we are seeing that the skills academy
programme is successful in bringing together employers and
Government to provide the world class skills that our economy
needs."
Suzanne Bond, executive director of people and skills at the
South West RDA, said: "The nuclear industry is likely to provide
thousands of jobs in the South West over the construction period
and hundreds more during the lifetime of the new power
stations.
"We need to help businesses in the South West access
opportunities in the nuclear supply chain. Investing in this
foundation of skills provides a solid base on which to build routes
to higher level employment and university level training in the
longer term."
Fiona McMillan, Principal of Bridgwater College said: "This is a
huge accolade for Bridgwater. There is only one other National
Skills Academy for Nuclear flagship delivery centre in the country,
in Cumbria, and it is a testament to the College's track record
that the Skills Academy has designated the Energy Skills Centre as
their South West delivery centre."
The National Skills Academy for Nuclear create, develop and
promote world class skills and career pathways to support a
sustainable future for the UK nuclear industry. It brings together
the very best quality providers with nuclear employers to develop
and promote skills and training for the nuclear sector.
The RDA's investment in the Energy Skills Centre complements the
£355,000 it has made in Bridgwater Challenge - a project, led by
Sedgemoor District Council, to create a new vision and strategic
framework for the regeneration of the town. The initiative
identifies the Centre as one of a number of strategic projects
which will act as a catalyst for the transformation of the
town.
Magnox South Ltd has donated £200,000 of simulator equipment and
the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and EDF Energy are also
supporting the project.
The Government has decided that nuclear power has an important
role to play in achieving a lower carbon energy mix in the UK and
combating climate change and is taking active steps to encourage
construction of new nuclear power stations.
The new 'Energy Centre' will double the number of training
places in trades that can be directly employed by the nuclear
industry - science, engineering and construction based
subjects.
Jean Llewellyn, chief executive of the National Skills Academy
for Nuclear, said: "This is an excellent development for the
National Skills Academy for Nuclear, the nuclear industry in the
South West and the future nuclear workforce. The Energy Centre will
have an important role to play in delivering high quality skills
for the nuclear industry, and we are delighted to be working in
partnership with Bridgwater College on this exciting
development."
Anthony Gibson, Independent Chair of the Bridgwater Challenge,
said "This is really good news for Bridgwater, and especially for
the young people of the town, who will now be able to acquire the
skills that they will need to make the most of what will be a
massive investment in low carbon energy. It is absolutely in line
with our Vision for the future of Bridgwater and is testament to
the determination of the Council and its partners to make that
vision a reality."
For more information please contact:
For the South West RDA: The Press Office on 01392 229389.
For the LSC: Natasha Groocock, LSC Press Manager, 024 76 82 3515
natasha.groocock@lsc.gov.uk
or San Jutla, LSC Press Officer, 024 76 82 5793 san.jutla2@lsc.gov.uk
Notes to editors
What are National Skills Academies?
National Skills Academies are specialist training organisations.
They put employers at the heart of the skills system. They enable
employers in a sector or an area of business such as enterprise, to
act together to stimulate and set out employer demand and
investment in skills. And they work with providers to deliver the
right and best quality skills and training through tailored
provision, including Apprenticeships and Train to Gain for their
sector. National Skills Academies are managed by the Learning and
Skills Council working in partnership with the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills, the UK Commission for Employment
and Skills, the Skills for Business Network, and the Department for
Children, Schools and Families.
There are now 13 approved National Skills Academies in key
sectors such as Construction, Engineering, Nuclear, Food and Drink
Manufacturing, Financial Services, Hospitality, Retail, Sports and
Leisure.
National Skills Academy for Nuclear
The Energy Skills Centre is the South West hub of the Nuclear
Skills Academy (NSA) for Nuclear. It will be a Centre of Excellence
of national importance enabling UK energy policy and providing
specialist training facilities in science, engineering and
specialist construction to meet demanding industry standards.
The project has the full support of two Sector Skills Councils
(Cogent and SEMTA) and is located on the Bridgwater College campus.
Bridgwater is an outstanding Grade 1 Beacon College with FE success
rates above the regional and national average. The college has
exceptionally strong employer links and attracts 16-18 and adult
students from across the South West and beyond.
The National Skills Academy business plan was approved by the
LSC in May 2007. Since then there has been a significant shift in
national energy policy, with the Government giving the green light
for new nuclear build. Hinkley C (located 14 miles away from
Bridgwater College) is proposed to be one of the first new stations
to be built. New build at Hinkley C will be a huge investment
opportunity for the South West with a far-reaching impact on the
region's economy. In light of the Government change, the size of
the project has grown in terms of requested grant and space, in
recent months public opinion has shifted dramatically towards
nuclear and in addition to this perception change, there is an
understanding that the energy sector in general and nuclear in
particular is one of very few that is growing and has a sound
future with the promise of new jobs, in the construction phase, and
in the operation and maintenance phases.
As part of its remit the NSA will ensure a high quality of
training across the nuclear sector and address what is perceived as
a fragmented system for the delivery of training.
Background
There are four existing new nuclear power stations in the South
West - Oldbury and Berkeley in Gloucestershire and Hinkley Point A
and Hinkley Point B in Somerset, and each will benefit from the
training offered by the Academy.
The first project to benefit from the Centre is likely to be the
proposed new twin unit power station at Hinkley Point (Hinkley
Point C). The project is being developed by EDF Energy and would
represent one of the biggest single investments in the South West
to date.
Hinkley Point C, in conjunction with Sizewell C in Suffolk, also
proposed by EDF Energy, are expected to be able to supply around 10
million homes once both are operating.
At the height of construction, around 4,000 workers of various
skill levels will be needed for the new build programme at Hinkley
Point. Construction work is expected to start on site as soon as
planning consent has been granted and EDF Energy is encouraging
local firms and workers to be fully involved in the opportunities
for employment.
Funding
Funding for this project has come from the LSC's Capital
Specialisation Fund which was announced last year. The Fund
supports three types of capital projects to raise skills levels in
key areas of the economy - National Skills Academies, Skills
Capital Projects and Regional Skills Capital Development Projects.
The projects are fine examples of how employers can directly
influence the supply of training so that learners have the skills
needed.
RDA
1. The South West RDA leads the development of a sustainable
economy, investing to unlock the region's business potential It is
helping companies respond to the economic crisis and charts a
course for recovery. The RDA is developing or expanding initiatives
which include: establishing a Business Loan Fund; coordinating the
response to large companies in difficulty; preparing for economic
recovery. More information can be found at http://www.southwestrda.org.uk/
2. For more information on Bridgwater Challenge, go to
http://www.bridgwaterchallenge.org.uk/