Yorkshire’s first university technical college opens its doors
UNIVERSITY Technical College (UTC) Sheffield, built by Wates Construction, was handed over to welcome 240 new students for the start of the academic year this week.
The £9.9m three-storey facility on Shoreham Street in Sheffield city centre is one of 12 new university technical colleges opening nationally this month.
In Sheffield City Region – the catchment area for UTC Sheffield – there is a shortage of skilled workers for the advanced engineering and manufacturing and the creative and digital industries, which are areas for growth regionally and nationally.
UTC Sheffield specialises in training 14 to 19-year-olds in the technical skills that employers need for the creative and digital industries, and the advanced engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Students complete a technical qualification in one of those subjects as well as traditional academic qualifications including GCSEs and A Levels. This year’s first intake comprises 138 Year 12, and 102 Year 10 students. Next year the number of student places will increase to 600 overall.
Nick Crew, principal, UTC Sheffield, said: “I am delighted at now being in the UTC Sheffield building with the full staff team and our students. The building, resources and curriculum planning are extremely impressive and will help to have a real impact on the future region’s young people and economic growth in our two focus areas.”
Richard Scarrott, operations director at Wates Construction, said: “Having been involved with so many of the region’s education facilities it has been a real privilege for Wates to build Yorkshire’s very first UTC. I’d like to thank our hard working site team whose commitment has enabled us to complete this important project in time for the start of the new academic year. I’m delighted to hand over this fantastic facility to its new owners and wish its first students every success with this innovative style of work-based learning.”
Key supporters of UTC Sheffield include Siemens, Newburgh Engineering, Rolls Royce, Sheffield Forgemasters, Tata Steel, the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre with Boeing, Performance Engineered Solutions, Team Cooper Games, Warp Films, Edumake technology, Resolve IT and Visionmix.
The UTC Sheffield is run by the UTC Sheffield Academy Trust. The UTC has been sponsored and led by The Sheffield College with Sheffield Hallam University and the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry as co-sponsors.
Sheffield City Council initiated the application, and is providing the land on a 125-year lease at a peppercorn rent.
The UTC Sheffield has been funded by the Department for Education, and designed by HLM Architects.
