Oldham College gets green light for new £6.9m facility

Greater Manchester’s local authorities have approved a £6.95m grant to provide a new facility at Oldham College.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has given the green light to cover 77.6 per cent of the total project costs from its Skills Capital funding pot.

The decision will see the construction of a modern facility which will be the new home to Oldham College’s fast-expanding construction curriculum, which offers skilled trades, project management and professional construction qualifications through to degree level.

The building will provide an extra 2,345 sq. metres of additional space on the town centre campus.

This will allow the college to increase the number of construction students by 70 per cent.

Construction apprenticeships will also increase by 200 per year, including higher level apprenticeships.

The new facility will also help to reduce operating costs for Oldham College through the demolition of two campus facilities which will be obsolete for teaching use beyond 2020/21. It will also mean more capacity for English as a Second Language (ESOL) provision to meet local needs.

Councillor Sean Fielding, GMCA Portfolio Lead for Education, Skills, Work and Apprenticeships – who is also Oldham Council Leader – said: “This is great news for Oldham College – and for the prospects and hopes of many young people.”

“We’re working hard to make Greater Manchester a region where everyone has the opportunity to get on in life. Making sure that we can equip young people with the right skills to grasp the growing opportunities on offer is vital to that.

“This grant will give Oldham College a new industry standard construction centre with modern facilities for learners in traditional and more higher level technical and management roles.

“Last year there was a 30 per cent increase in enrolments in construction learning at Oldham College and its important they can cope with the increasing demand in this sector.”