Lord Baker witnesses start of work on new 9.5m pounds Humber UTC
The Rt Hon Lord Baker (Baker Dearing Trust) today witnessed the start of work to build a new £9.5m Humber University Technical College (UTC) – the first of its kind in the Yorkshire and Humber region – that will create 600 student places and 220 jobs. This groundbreaking ceremony took place this afternoon in Church Square, Scunthorpe.
Lord Baker was accompanied by key partners spearheading the development – Cllr Liz Redfern (leader, North Lincolnshire Council), Peter Stephenson (executive chairman, Able UK Ltd), Jon Bolton (director, long products, Tata Steel), Prof Calie Pistorius (vice chancellor, University of Hull), David Earnshaw (chair of the board, Outwood Grange Academies Trust) and many others involved in the project.
The UTC will be built in the heart of Scunthorpe Town Centre in Church Square and project managed by the existing Local Education Partnership (LEP) and its local supply chain. It will open to students in September 2015.
The government funded UTC for 14 to 19 year-olds will have the curriculum designed and delivered by the business and education partners from across the region. It will specialise in bringing the skills for the engineering and renewable energy sector to life – alongside English, maths and science.
Key players in the business sector, leading education providers and dedicated public agencies are making a direct intervention to ensure local people get the opportunities they deserve.
The UTC will prepare young people from North Lincolnshire and the Humber region for the world of work with technical skills and pathway opportunities to gain employment with the partners.
Students will work closely with employers to enable them to be qualified to work in sectors that are growing and looking for skilled staff. All students will work on live projects and showcase them to their future employers throughout their time at Humber UTC.
All successful UTC graduates will be offered an interview with a major employer and conditional offer to study engineering at the University of Hull.
Students can now apply for a full-time place at Humber UTC – for more details visit www.humberutc.co.uk. People will also be able to apply at the North Lincolnshire careers event on 14 October at the Baths Hall (open to the public at 1.30pm)
Cllr Liz Redfern, leader, North Lincolnshire Council, said:
“The UTC will make a huge difference to young people’s lives and help revitalise the town centre, giving it a new look and purpose. It is what the Humber region needs and I am delighted that it is to be built in Scunthorpe, creating job opportunities for local people. It presents a fantastic opportunity for young people and a range of employers who are keen to recruit the right people with the right skills. It is a great location in the heart of the town and close to the shops, bars and cafes and right next door to our wonderful contemporary 20-21 Visual Art Centre. This project demonstrates excellent partnership working.”
Peter Stephenson, executive chairman, Able UK Ltd, said:
“This will give young people a great opportunity to learn and develop. They will have access to all the latest industry technology in a brand new building with some major employers on their doorstep, who are shaping their workforce of the future. Every young person attending the UTC will have every chance of succeeding and we want the next generation to have the right skills to drive our local businesses forward. The sector is a massive growth area in the region and it will need a skilled workforce as it grows further.”
Prof Calie Pistorius, University of Hull, said:
“The Humber UTC brings together groundbreaking businesses, world-class education expertise and dedicated public agencies. We believe the UTC will give employers the chance to engage learners at an age where they will be developing a clear sense of who they are, starting to make choices about their own interests and define their work habits, plans and expectations. We are very excited to be a part of this development, and look forward to helping these young people prepare for their future.”
Jon Bolton, director, long products, Tata Steel, said:
“We have some incredible opportunities here, not just for young people, but for local businesses too. Tata Steel already has a well-developed apprenticeship scheme, but we know how important it is to provide advanced vocational training and the UTC will do just that. As well as other employee-led programmes such as Industrial Cadets, the UTC will be a major step forward in education and training for this region and help maintain an interest in core STEM subjects. It will help address the skills gap faced by engineering and manufacturing companies in the future.”
Richard Alport, general manager for the LEP, said:
“I am absolutely delighted that work is about to start on site at Church Square, following a rapid period of development involving North Lincolnshire Council and the UTC. I am sure this stage could not have been achieved so speedily without the input of all parties, especially our established team of local designers, builders and suppliers whose vast knowledge of building educational facilities was invaluable to the process.”
During design and construction, the UTC will create 150 jobs, plus a further 70 teaching jobs when complete.
The partnership spearheading the UTC is made up of:
•North Lincolnshire Council (board member) – one of the largest employers in the area, a public sector organisation providing a wide range of services to local residents and businesses. Services include waste, recycling, education, health, leisure, trading standards, licensing, road maintenance, road safety, adult social care and children’s services. Its vision for North Lincolnshire is to aspire people and inspire places. It will do this by providing excellence in customer service and value for taxpayers money, making communities safer and stronger, and regenerating the area and increasing prosperity.
•Able UK Ltd (employer sponsor) – ambitious and successful organisation that operates across a number of challenging industrial and business sectors. From being a leading and innovative specialist in complex demolition processes, it has evolved into a multi-functional business providing solutions for some of the world’s largest organisations. It is ‘market leader’ in a number of sectors including decommissioning and as a provider of multi-user port facilities. Able operates a number of strategic sites, mainly across the North of England, undertaking full site reclamation and associated property development. It has a land holding of 1,600 plus hectares (4,000 acres) and consists of five river frontage sites on the River Tees and two on the Humber Estuary, providing ports and logistics services.
•University of Hull (founder board member) – puts students at the heart of everything it does. It is proud of its academic reputation, which reflects the high quality of the education it provides. England’s 14th University and Yorkshire’s hidden gem. More than nine out of 10 Hull full-time graduates find work or further study within six months of completing their studies. It has a 99.3 per cent success rate for those studying part-time degrees (Higher Education Statistics Agency).
•Tata Steel (employer sponsor) – one of the world’s most geographically diversified steel producers, with operations in 26 countries and commercial offices in more than 35 countries. In Europe it is the second largest steel producer. It serves demanding markets worldwide including aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy and power, lifting and excavating, packaging, rail, and shipbuilding.
•Outwood Grange Academies Trust (board member) – was borne out of the success of Outwood Grange (near Wakefield), a large school of 2,200 students which has achieved record exam results every year for the past 10 years, culminating in 84 per cent including English & Maths. Outwood Grange is an Outstanding school recognised by Ofsted – achieving all Grade 1s – and was one of the first National Leaders of Education Support Schools. There are two secondary Academies in North Lincolnshire – Outwood Academy Brumby and Outwood Academy Foxhills, both in Scunthorpe.
•North Lindsey College (board member) – a further education college in Scunthorpe and associate college of the University of Lincoln providing a range of further and higher education courses for students over 16 years old and adult education. The college comprises 69 departments. It has two local centres in Ashby and Barton. It has approximately 2,000 full-time and 8,000 part-time students. It has a national reputation for the quality of results in A level and vocational studies. It provides a range of engineering courses plus many others.
•The Local Education Partnership (LEP) – is an innovative partnership established between North Lincolnshire Council and the private sector to carry out building design, construction and ICT works in the education and other sectors. Earlier this year, the LEP was selected to build the new UTC. The LEP was set up following a rigorous competitive procurement exercise by North Lincolnshire Council and has already successfully delivered over £80m worth of projects in the area using its local supply chain.
•Centrica Storage Ltd (employer sponsor) – wholly-owned subsidiary of Centrica plc. It operates the Rough gas storage facility in the southern North Sea and the Easington onshore gas processing terminal in East Yorkshire. It stores natural gas for European producers, traders and suppliers.
•Team Humber Marine Alliance (employer sponsor) – represents more than 190 innovative companies that offer wide-ranging capabilities in key sectors enabling the delivery of high quality services to UK and international markets. This vibrant membership group is also vital to the business activities connected with the Humber ports of Hull, Grimsby, Goole, and Immingham, the UK’s busiest ports complex and the fourth largest trading estuary in Northern Europe. Team Humber Marine Alliance has had great success in finding new business for members and opportunities for collaboration to bid for major contracts.