Apprentices and students at Newbury College benefit from £1 million investment into a new Engineering Solutions Lab
30 January 2017, Newbury, Berkshire – Peter Read, Chairman of Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), today officially opened Newbury College’s brand new Engineering Solutions Lab. The new facility, fitted with leading technology, will enable the College’s engineering apprentices to research, design and develop components for their employers, whilst also benefitting students on full-time engineering programmes.
Part of the investment for the project came from a successful bid to Thames Valley Berkshire LEP for Local Growth Funds. The College received £333,333 from the LEP; the total cost of the facility was £1 million. The new facility will help address the needs of the local economy by raising the quality and profile of the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) provision in the area.
The Lab is comprised of two zones. The first contains electronic and electrical equipment, including CNC milling and turning machines, 3D printers and scanners and a 3D laser etching machine, to help design and develop innovative industry-approved engineering projects. The second zone is a fully functioning Computer Aided Design (CAD) area fitted out with design and drawing software packages such as AutoCAD and Inventor, and CNC software to connect to the machines in the other room.
Commenting on the new facility, Peter Read, Chairman of Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, said: “I am delighted to open the new Engineering Solutions Lab at Newbury College today. Our Growth Deal set out to grow the STEM skills base in Berkshire, and this project is an excellent example of this being put into action.
“Whilst employers continue to place strong emphasis on STEM skills, the number of young people entering the workforce with these skills remains below demand. As a high proportion of businesses in the Thames Valley Berkshire (TVB) economy are knowledge-intensive and therefore require a continuing flow of STEM talent, it is vital that significant steps are taken to ensure the economic potential of TVB is not restricted by labour supply issues. The opening of the Engineering Solutions Lab today is a definite step in the right direction.”
Dr Anne Murdoch, Principal and Chief Executive of Newbury College, added: “We are grateful to everyone who joined us today for our opening ceremony, especially to Peter Read who performed the official unveiling. As well as providing career progression and business development opportunities to our apprentices and their employers, our new facility also gives full-time students on engineering courses the chance to develop their STEM skills and gain experience working with leading technology.
“Organisations already making use of the new facility include Blatchford, Progressive Technology, Williams F1 and Xtrac, and we encourage other local employers to also make use of the facility by getting in touch with us.”
Newbury College provides a range of further education engineering courses including Level 2 Computer Aided Design, Electrical Installation and Engineering, and Level 3 Electrical Installation and Engineering. Higher education courses include Electrical and Electronic Engineering HNC and HND Diplomas, Mechanical Engineering HNC and HND Diplomas. For more information on the engineering courses available at Newbury College visit: https://www.newbury-college.ac.uk/courses/engineering-and-electrical.html
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Notes to editors
About Newbury College
Newbury College is an established high quality provider of education and training. It offers around 1,000 courses from its campus in Monks Lane and at other venues across West Berkshire. It provides further and higher education, professional and vocational training, a wide range of leisure courses and works with local employers to promote apprenticeships. In 2015, Ofsted confirmed Newbury College as ‘good’ with some ‘outstanding’ features.
About Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership
The Thames Valley Berkshire LEP is a business led body, working to sustain the area’s status as the most productive sub region in the UK. It comprises key leaders from the business, education, voluntary and community sectors, and six unitary authority areas of: Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and Wokingham.
About the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP Local Growth Deal
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The Local Growth Fund was established in response to Lord Heseltine’s report No Stone Unturned.
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Thames Valley Berkshire LEP was invited to submit a strategic economic plan by 31 March 2014 outlining its local priorities to maximise growth.
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In Investing in Britain’s Future, published alongside Autumn Statement 2013, the Local Growth Fund was committed to be at least £2 billion a year from 2015 to 2016. It is drawn from the existing budgets of central government departments.
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At Autumn Statement 2014 the government announced it would be awarding a further £1 billion of the Local Growth Fund
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