WORK on a new £6.3 million education centre to serve North and East Cornwall is set to begin in December following confirmation of Government funding.
Truro and Penwith College this week learned that its submission to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Getting Building Fund to develop a specialist STEM skills centre has been approved.
The Cornwall STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Skills Centre will offer post-16 education in health sciences, digital, engineering and manufacturing, including the new T-levels.
The centre will be built by Truro and Penwith College on land adjacent to its campus at Callywith, Bodmin.and will create over 200 new jobs, says the College.
Earlier this year, the College gained Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approval to deliver nursing apprenticeships in partnership with the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust (RCHT). The Skills Centre at Callywith will focus on the innovation and delivery of ‘e-Health’ programmes throughout North and East Cornwall.
This will include the local delivery of higher-level nursing, health and social care apprenticeships, providing sustainable local career pathways, and helping mitigate demands on local service use.
Truro and Penwith College principal designate Martin Tucker said of today’s announcement from Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick: ’This is fantastic news for Cornwall. Many of the digital skills delivered have great transferable potential across sectors. However, the particular Health Sciences focus of the centre will be hugely welcome in Cornwall, as it looks to ensure that identified needs in our health and care services can be met.
’We’re greatly looking forward to working with the LEP on this and to getting building immediately.’
Principal David Walrond, who retires at the end of this month, said: ’It would be difficult to think of a project more tailor made for Cornwall’s emerging needs through the Covid crisis and its recovery agenda so I am delighted that this new facility has received such strong local support with national investment and endorsement.’