Construction company Leadbitter has won the contract to design and build Fareham College's new £12m engineering and advanced manufacturing skills centre.
The Centre for Excellence in Engineering and Manufacturing Advanced Skills Technology (CEMAST) project is the first phase of a £26m capital investment programme by the college.
It received a further boost last week with news of a £4.7m award from the Skills Funding Agency, which will go towards refurbishing the existing site.
Situated in the Solent Enterprise Zone, the centre will focus on advanced marine and aerospace manufacturing sectors.
It represents a major investment in the future of engineering skills for the Fareham and Gosport peninsula, and college principal Nigel Duncan said he expects the centre to be open to learners by September 2014.
Innovation in Manufacturing is an upcoming event in The Manufacturer magazine’s highly successful Future Factory Series.
The event will take place on October 16 in London with keynote speeches and case study presentations that will explore how British manufacturers can find more efficient ways of developing new, more sophisticated products.
https://www.themanufacturer.com/eventsite/innovation2013/
Deputy principal Peter Marsh, who has masterminded the overall strategy, said the aim is to provide learners at the college with the very best industry standard environment.
“With CEMAST now underway we are determined to provide all learners at Fareham College with the very best industry standard learning environment,” he said.
Mr Marsh added: “This new £4.7m SFA government grant gives us confidence to come forward with exciting plans to transform our existing site as phase two of a £26 million capital investment in the future skills and career development for the residents of Fareham, Gosport and beyond.”
