New digital technology lab opens at GCS

Students at Gower College Swansea will benefit following the official launch of a brand new digital technology lab at the Tycoch campus.

The lab is the result of a very generous sponsorship package from Premier EDA Solutions, which includes a donation of around £500,000 of their sector-leading Altium Designer electronic design software.

Premier EDA Solutions, provider of specialist software tools for companies involved in electronics design, is a huge supporter of young people looking to develop careers in the UK electronics industry and is a main sponsor of Worldskills National Finals competitions across the UK.

“With so few colleges delivering dedicated electronics courses these days, it is essential for us to support Gower College Swansea with this sponsorship,” says Managing Director of Premier EDA Solutions, Phil Mayo. “I’ve worked with Curriculum Leader Steve Williams and Lecturer Clive Monks in association with our Worldskills work and find them to be extremely capable – they also share our passion for providing young people with industry-relevant, transferable skills. I am delighted therefore to have a laboratory dedicated to Altium Designer at Gower College Swansea and believe this will prove to be an exceptional facility for all students involved.”

“We intend to place more and more students into Worldskills / SkillsCompetition Wales events so we need to ensure they develop the necessary skills in circuit design and simulation,” adds Steve. “This new partnership with Premier EDA Solutions will mean the college can now offer this training as part of our core curriculum. They have also very kindly agreed to provide myself and Clive with a ‘train the trainer’ package which means we can cascade this knowledge down to our students as well.”

“I’m delighted that Gower College Swansea and Premier EDA Solutions are working together to provide the very best digital technology training to our students.”