Newcastle College has welcomed Mary Glindon, MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, to its Energy Academy as work gets underway on a major £8.5m expansion of the Wallsend facility.
During the visit, Ms Glindon toured the Energy Academy, meeting students and colleagues and seeing first-hand the industry-standard facilities and equipment used to prepare learners for careers across engineering, manufacturing and the energy sector.
David Laycock, Director of Energy, Engineering and Built Environment at Newcastle College, also shared plans for the expansion, which will see a new purpose-built education building and workshop facility created alongside the existing Energy Academy on Hadrian Road.
The development will significantly increase capacity at the Academy, creating additional space for specialist engineering training and supporting the continued growth of Newcastle College’s provision in offshore wind, renewable energy and engineering.
The visit gave Mary the opportunity to speak directly with students and teaching colleagues about their experiences at the Energy Academy and see the investment already made in specialist equipment designed to reflect the technology and working environments found across industry.
Mary Glindon, MP for Newcastle East and Wallsend, said: “It was a pleasure to visit the Energy Academy today and see how engaged and enthusiastic the students were in their classes.
"The Academy already has a great reputation as a training facility for skills in the Green Energy industry. So, I was greatly impressed to hear about Newcastle College’s plans the for the expansion of the campus to accommodate over a thousand training places for students, from Tyneside and across the area.
"These young people will become part of the highly skilled workforce needed in the renewable and engineering sector. It’s great news for Wallsend and for the North East region."
David Laycock, Director of Energy, Engineering and Built Environment at Newcastle College, said: “It was great to welcome Mary to the Energy Academy and show her the facilities we have here in Wallsend, as well as the investment that is already transforming the site.
“The Energy Academy has developed significantly over the years, and the £8.5m expansion marks another major step forward. The new purpose-built education building and workshop facility will significantly increase our capacity and give us even more space to deliver high-quality technical education.
“With construction now underway, it was a great opportunity to show Mary what we have already achieved here and share our plans for the next chapter of the Energy Academy.”
The £8.5m expansion is being delivered in partnership with Shepherd Offshore, the North East Combined Authority, North Tyneside Council, Elliott Associates, Ryder Architecture and Fairhurst.
Once complete, the expanded Energy Academy is expected to significantly increase student numbers and strengthen Newcastle College’s role in developing the workforce needed to support the North East’s growing clean energy and engineering sectors.