UCG’s Euston Skills Centre is an innovation in education

United Colleges Group (UCG) are delighted to announce the launch of the Euston Skills Centre — an innovative new learning hub for College of North West London (CNWL) students.

Jules Pipe CBE, Deputy Mayor, Planning, Regeneration and Skills attended the official launch event on Thursday, February 8, which coincided with National Apprenticeship Week (Feb 5-11).

Along with other invited guests, they heard from Huw Merriman MP, Minister of State for Rail and HS2 at the Department for Transport; Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council; and Stephen Davis, CEO and Group Principal of United Colleges Group, about the joint-venture journey of Euston Skills Centre and the future pathways it will provide for education and employment opportunities.

The facility is funded by CNWL via a grant from the GLA (Greater London Authority) and by Camden Council, and the hub will deliver Plumbing and Electrical GNVQ qualifications for 16 to 18-year-olds.

Situated north of Euston Station, the site forms part of the new High Speed 2 (HS2) Rail Terminal and was purchased by HS2 to provide temporary accommodation for workers.

This provided an opportunity for Camden Council to take a lease on the six-storey modular building and create a state-of the-art Construction Skills Centre on the lower two floors for CNWL.

Councillor Georgia Gould, Leader of Camden Council, said:

“The opening of the new Euston Skills Centre is brilliant news for our community.

“Working alongside the United Colleges Group it will deliver training, skills, qualifications and experience for local residents as well as support for the community to get into good work.

“It is ideally positioned to benefit from the construction of Euston Station in the long term and we are determined that all residents who live near the site see direct benefits from development.

“In Camden, we are passionate about supporting good quality apprenticeships and we are delighted to announce during national apprentice week that the Euston Skills Centre will be make a significant contribution by delivering over 150 construction apprenticeships each year.

“We are also proud to be working with UCG and the GLA to develop a Green Skills Hub. We have big ambitions around tackling climate change and delivering warm, energy efficient homes and this hub will help deliver the skills and training to meet those ambitions.”

Huw Merriman MP, Minister of State for Rail and HS2 at the Department for Transport, said:

“I’m really excited about what this centre will do. I’m really excited about the people who will come through the doors and what they build through this extraordinary regeneration opportunity for Euston.

“In years to come we look around this place with great pride knowing that the people in this room right now helped to deliver it.”

Stephen Davis, Group Principal and CEO of the United Colleges Group, said:

“United Colleges Group are pleased to confirm the completion of the Euston Skills Centre… a fantastic new learning site for College of North West London.

“As a group, we aim to provide students and staff with the most up-to-date and best-in-class environment to achieve their goals — and we believe the ESC is just the latest step on that journey.

“UCG are excited to be supporting both the Mayors skills for Londoners agenda for the Capital and the London Borough of Camden.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. And the Euston Skills Centre is an excellent example of collaborative leadership across the public sector that will deliver the very best training for the skills that are much needed in London.”

Lee Boresta, Assistant Principal, Engineering Construction and Built Environment, United Colleges Group, said:

“The specialist bays are fully equipped with the latest equipment and resources — and the idea behind that was to replicate real-life scenarios and provide the most innovative learning experience for students.

“The technologies are the newest of the newest and the best of the best of what is available in training resources, which will allow us to expand our curriculum across the community.

“Hatfield supplied and fitted all the interior finishes, fixtures and fittings to the centre. We sourced GLA funding to be able to do this, and they collaborated with both the college and Camden Council to achieve this.”

After user engagements with Camden Council and CNWL to ensure that the building and the teaching and learning spaces met the curriculum requirements, Hatfield Interiors then carried out the detailed design for all the areas including an electrical workshop, plumbing workshop, tutor rooms and classrooms.