Weymouth College are set to undertake an engineering upgrade worth £250,000 to introduce hybrid and electric vehicle facilities.
With the funds, the college will create a Centre of Excellence for Motor Vehicle Technology, provided by government Local Growth Funding, secured by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
The redevelopment aims to future-proof Weymouth College’s infrastructure and introduce pioneering industry standards to a growing number of students, as well as supporting local employment in engineering.
The project will upgrade the 500m² motor vehicle workshop space and enable development of hybrid and fully electric vehicle facilities.
MP Jake Berry, Minister for Growth at the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, said: “Boosting economic growth while driving towards a more sustainable future equals perfect progress.
“Investment in young people in coastal towns such as Weymouth builds a more prosperous and inclusive Britain. The Centre for Excellence will boost the local economy with a continual influx of these skilled engineers.”
Weymouth College’s improved facilities and equipment will not only advance their curriculum but increase places on their engineering courses at their main Cranford Avenue campus.
Forward thinking
The transformation aims to advance teaching and also produce well skilled college graduates to meet current and future local employment needs.
The college will have a greater capacity to support apprenticeships and full-time learners, and upon completion will be able to offer double the number of engineering apprenticeships.
Currently, Weymouth College offer 80 apprenticeship places, but this is expected to double to 160, and increase by 80 places per year thereafter.
Nigel Evans, Principal of Weymouth College, said: “Providing the cutting edge training our students want – alongside developing the skills our local businesses need – is at the very heart of everything Weymouth College offers.”
Motor Vehicle Technology has been identified as one of the key planks of the government’s Industrial Strategy where their mission is to ‘put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles, with all new cars and vans effectively zero emission by 2040’.
To find out more about other projects being funded by Dorset LEP, click here.