A new engineering and construction vocational training college has opened in Basildon, one of the most deprived wards in the country.

The £5.3 million vocational college, which stands on the site of an old plastics factory, is one of the few centres in the UK able to offer aeronautical engineering training and will help provide much needed skills and training to Basildon, where 44 per cent of local people have no qualifications.

The college, masterminded by the East of England Development Agency, aims to assist 450 businesses to improve performance and offer over 1000 employment support packages over three years.

Neil Bates, Chief Executive, Prospects Learning Foundation, said: "All the young apprentices who are with us are employed by local employers, and there are some major employers supporting the centre. We encourage the employers to become involved in the day-to-day activity of the centre, and to support their apprentices when they come to the college and when they go to their workplace.

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"The centre is a major investment for the Prospects Learning Foundation – we have invested £2.5 million, and we have been supported by the East of England Development Agency, which has provided us with an additional £2.8 million. It is now the biggest centre for construction and engineering in the South East."

Over three years the college aims to raise the skills of 135 people and ensure that 240 students gain a Level 2 National Vocational Qualification. 200 apprentices have already signed up. Already, 15 jobs have been directly created at the college.

It is one of only eight specialist facilities in the UK for training electricians who work in environments where there is a risk of explosions. The range of skills that the college will offer includes mechanical engineering, bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, fabrication and welding, and aircraft maintenance.

(DW/JM)