The £13 million Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) has welcomed its first students.

The first training courses to be offered at the Academy include the Tunnel Safety Card, pre-requisite for anyone who will work below ground on Crossrail, and Construction Skills Certification Scheme health and safety card training. Vocational courses initially on offer are pre-cast concrete manufacture and tunnel operations training.

Between now and the end of the year, a variety of other vocational training courses will begin to be offered, increasing the number of students attending the new campus.

Work to install tunnelling plant and machinery in the major vocational training areas, including a static tunnel boring machine and a simulated tunnel environment, will complete by the end of the year. This will allow students to gain experience in the practical skills required for underground construction.

By early 2012, the Academy will be fully open for business with the full curriculum in delivery and the vocational training areas operational. Up to 150 students will be attending courses offered through the Academy at any one time.

Located at Ilford in east London, TUCA aims to address the shortage of people with the necessary skills to work on Crossrail and other tunnelling projects in London and the UK. It also has the potential to assist European projects.

The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy will offer training to at least 3,500 people over the lifetime of the Crossrail project alone. The only other dedicated tunnelling training facility in Europe is located in Switzerland.

-- Advertisement --

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: "I am a huge supporter of the aims of this academy and I am thrilled that it is now enrolling its first students. At the height of construction many thousands of people will be working on Crossrail and it will provide a huge economic boost to the capital. Our new academy in east London will be a vital resource and Crossrail is working closely with job centres along the route to ensure as many local people as possible are able to learn the skills necessary to play a part in the largest construction project in the southeast for 50 years."

Rail Minister Theresa Villiers said: "Investing in this Academy further emphasises Government’s commitment to rebalancing our economy and promoting the skills our young people need to help Britain compete in the world.

"This Academy's legacy will be a new generation of specialists able to help deliver important infrastructure projects to support growth here and anywhere across the globe."

TUCA students will be made up of new entrants to the industry as well as Crossrail's contractors’ existing workforces. Those already working in the industry can up-skill or formalise their knowledge through nationally accredited technical and safety training including apprenticeships, NVQs and other programmes.

TUCA is a large structure, approximately 100 metres long, 36 metres wide and 12 metres high. The total size of the Academy extends to 3,600 sq. metres.

Facilities will replicate the key areas of a fully-automated tunnelling project. These will include a simulated tunnel boring machine environment, supported by a TBM backup area, with a loco and narrow gauge railway to the rear. There will be a separate chamber for Sprayed Concrete operations in addition to a large underground construction workshop. TUCA will also have four teaching rooms, a test centre for online safety tests, a large refectory and a Learning Resource Centre.

An Industry Advisory Panel, comprising representatives from client and contractor organisations involved in underground construction, will ensure the training on offer at TUCA is world-class and responsive to the needs of industry. The Panel will include representatives of Thames Water and National Grid.

Crossrail also announced a further sponsorship deal for the Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy. BASF Meyco Equipment are to donate plant and construction supplies worth £600,000.

BASF Meyco Equipment joins National Grid, Interocean Personnel Services and New Civil Engineer magazine who have already signed-up to support the Academy. Further sponsorship deals are currently being finalised with the construction industry including key Crossrail suppliers.

(CD)