Green light for new training centre

Barking and Dagenham College (@BarkingCollege) will launch a new green construction training centre thanks to a funding boost.

The College is part of a consortium of London colleges to benefit from £6.5m Government funding into green and digital skills training.

The investment will see 23 further education providers in east London benefit from new state-of-the-art facilities and digital and green skills training.

Of the total fund, £3.6m has been carved out for delivering new green skills training facilities.

Barking and Dagenham College’s new green construction training centre will be home to “house in a box” training facilities, equipped with all the technologies you’d find in an energy efficient home, including heat pumps and solar panels, so that learners can practise installation, commissioning, and maintenance in a “live” environment.

Approximately £1.5m of new investment has also been made into installing a new digital network, connecting up to 30 training sites across the London boroughs. This will enable specialist teaching on one site to be broadcast across the whole network, meaning students can access learning from a location that is convenient for them.

Natalie Davison, Principal and CEO Barking & Dagenham College said:

“Green construction is a massive growth area for our borough, and we are delighted to be receiving this funding to launch our new green construction training centre at Barking & Dagenham College. This investment will be invaluable in helping local people to train and retrain in this developing industry and will support local businesses to develop the skilled workforce they need. 

“Moreover, the innovative digital network will mean that specialist teaching at both our site and others can be broadcast across the whole network, enabling access to this learning on an unprecedented scale.”

The Local London Skills Network successfully bid for the £6.5m as part of the Government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund. The project is being delivered to more effectively respond to the needs of employers in the Local London region, made up of nine London boroughs, and put local learners in the best possible position to secure jobs in the green and digital sectors.