STUDENTS are being future-proofed by a North East college thanks to a major investment in green construction.
Specialist bays are being installed at Darlington College as interest grows in green energy.
More than £100,000 is being invested in equipment and training in a department that has attracted three times the number of students in recent times.
Students will be able to train in a variety of green construction techniques and retro-fitting technology.
These include solar energy, ground and air source heat pump installation and electric vehicle charge points. Bay functions will include demonstrations, fault finding and installation work.
Finance has been secured from the Local Skills Development Funds run by the Department of Education.
The initiative is the latest phase of the college’s overall investment in state-of-the-art facilities for learners and local employers in the field of retrofit renewable training.
By August the college will also be delivering Level 3 retrofit assessor qualifications as well as City & Guilds Level 2 in sustainability and the green environment.
The overall aim of the investment in green technology is to standardise the training of specific skills used in decarbonising technologies.
Students will gain practical experiences allowing them the opportunity to learn and apply higher level technical skills. They will be taught by industry experts with training tailored to employers’ needs.
This will result in improved access locally to upskilling and accreditations to work on retrofit projects and boost the chances of securing employment.
Last year’s local skills improvement plan identified retrofitting as a high priority area in the Tees Valley with opportunities and projects in both domestic and industrial construction.
The Government estimates that 24 million homes, including 3.4 million in the North East and Yorkshire, require a domestic retrofit which equates to decarbonising at a rate of 20,000 properties a week across the country by 2025 to ensure the 2050 targets are met.
To achieve net zero targets the 940 fulltime equivalents employed in the domestic retrofit sector need to increase to 67,000 by 2050.
Following a successful tender for renewables training equipment, the college will work in partnership with Quantum Training.
Quantum managing partner Maria Gonella said: “Quantum is thrilled to be collaborating with Darlington College to drive the green skills agenda and create a flagship renewables training centre in the Northeast region.
“At Quantum, we’re doing our utmost to provide solutions, garnered from our experience in industry, to all angles of the green skills gap to meet 2030 net zero targets. We are proud of Darlington's initiative in taking this step forward.”
Darlington College senior lecturer Lee Chatterton said this was a life-changing opportunity for students offering them the chance to access a lucrative career in green energy.
He said: “We are here for the next generation of multi-skilled engineers who will be able to install, maintain and repair renewable energy. We are already seeing young people turn their lives around, some who were excluded or failed to attend school but are now top of the class.
“We are future-proofing the livelihoods of engineers as long as they are prepared to evolve and learn.”
Darlington College programme leader Leigh Porter added: “They will be completing their qualifications just as a raft of new legislation comes out surrounding green energy and at a time when many older engineers are reluctant to retrain. So they will be able to walk straight into well paid employment. And they get us for life if they need mentorship, references or any advice.”
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.
