Derby to be home to £3.5m automotive technologies facility
Derby College Group (DCG) has been awarded £3.5m from the Government’s post-16 capacity fund to create additional capacity for 16-19 learners.
The new facility, at the back from the current Stephenson Building on the Roundhouse site in Derby, will ensure that DCG is equipped to provide training for the changing automotive technologies including for electric vehicles.
Iain Baldwin, director of estate, said: “It is excellent news to be awarded this grant as this will enable us to create a building that will be totally aligned to the needs of the automotive industry.
“The building will be in the region of 1150 metres and will incorporate facilities such as high-level lifts, and a double workshop and will be designed to integrate with the existing Stephenson Building. And the construction will be environmentally friendly incorporating the latest building techniques and materials”
Steven Elliott, head of technology apprenticeships, added: “This facility will help strengthen the automotive skills of today’s learners and support the education of the next generation.
“We want to inspire anyone who is interested in working in the automotive industry as it is an ever-changing and exciting area to work in. It really has evolved and it’s now an extremely technical industry which requires an abundance of new skills.
“So by creating this propose-built training centre, DCG will be perfectly placed to meet the needs of the learners and of the employers.”
The building is currently in the planning stage, looking at enhancing the design, finalising costings and preparing all the specifications ready to go out for tender for an anticipated date of the end of July, and September 2024 for completion date and occupancy of the building for the new academic year.
