Suffolk New College in Ipswich has officially opened a new Net Zero Skills Centre.

The College also partnered with Morgan Sindall to create a sustainable construction area, with examples of construction materials, which improve building sustainability for learners to study.

The facility benefitted from £940,000 worth of funding from the Ipswich Town Deal funded by HM Government.

It will offer new generations the chance to gain the skills they need to work in careers related to green skills.

New facilities at the Net Zero Skills Centre include air and ground source heat pumps, solar panel maintenance and installation equipment, a water harvesting area, a hybrid and electric vehicle studio and an electric boiler room.

Alister Broadberry, Area Director for Morgan Sindall Construction in the Eastern Counties, said: "Sustainable construction skills are a vital and much in demand part of today’s building sector, as they are essential to tackling the challenging green targets we need to meet as an industry and as a society.

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"This is why we're excited to be working with Suffolk New College on their Net Zero Skills Centre, as its comprehensive sustainable construction training will help embed advanced environmental awareness, knowledge and capabilities into tomorrow’s built environment workforce. Being an industry partner of Suffolk New College is a great way to provide students with an insight into the industry and how the skills they are learning align with Morgan Sindall’s Intelligent Solutions approach and commitment to net zero carbon."

This and other bespoke equipment will support training for students and businesses.

The opening of the new centre builds on a collaborative project that has seen colleges in Norfolk and Suffolk join forces to embed sustainability across their curriculums, culminating in a New Anglia Green Skills summit held in Ipswich earlier in the year.

In addition, part of the Green Skills project funded a two-day sustainability festival for students. Both these events were supported by the New Anglia Green Skills project, which was funded by the Strategic Development Fund from the Department for Education. The Green Skills project also funded key equipment in the Net Zero Skills Centre, including hybrid and electric vehicles.