Today (Friday 3 February 2012) saw Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi open Stratford-upon-Avon college’s new Construction Academy. The facility, costing £750 k to build, was one of the largest capital projects in education funded by Warwickshire County Council last year.

“The main reason for the Construction Academy being built was because of a shortage of construction skills in the local area”, Martin Penny – Principal of the College. “We have about 70 construction students training and working in here, 20 of which are Apprentices| working with local employers.”

Commenting on the building, Peter Young- Manager of the Academy said “The building is primarily for the delivery of brickwork skills from level 1 where we encourage pre 16’s to sample a range of construction skills to level 3 where craftsmen can develop their skills particularly in the field of renovation”.

“It is purpose built to allow students to work on full scale projects including a permanent scaffolding fixture, all year round. The projects have been designed so that other trades such as electricians and carpenters can work with the bricklayers in a realistic way to imitate the conditions that will be experienced in the workplace”.

In additions to the workshops a classroom equipped with the latest IT equipment has been fitted out in the building, also all staff have access to ipads and itv to allow the best practice in gathering digital evidence and feedback of student work and assessment.

Stratford-upon-Avon College offers a range apprenticeships to young people across Warwickshire, Coventry, and Solihull.|

Please visit our our Flickr| and YouTube| pages for additional photographs and a video of the event.

For more information or a photo opportunity please contact Marketing on 01789 266245 or email marketing@stratford.ac.uk|.