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£13.5m centre opens to boost green skills

Emma Baugh
BBC News, Peterborough
Reporting fromPeterborough College
Harriet Heywood
BBC News, Peterborough
Emma Baugh/BBC A line of dignitaries at the opening of the centre. They are standing behind a green ribbon which a woman in a green jacket is about to cut with a pair of scissors.Emma Baugh/BBC
The Inspire Education Group said the centre was designed to address the UK's green skills shortage

A £13.5m centre has opened to teach green skills and boost jobs.

The Centre for Green Technology at Peterborough College aims to tackle a skills shortage and support sustainable economic growth.

Hundreds of thousands of green jobs are needed to support the government's growth mission, said Baroness Taylor, a Labour peer who was at the launch.

Oliver, 18, said he felt he was improving his job prospects by attending the college.

He said: "Everyone's finding it quite hard [to get jobs] but it is giving me a lot of confidence doing my plumbing here."

Emma Baugh/BBC Oliver is wearing a blue hi-vis vest with a name badge on. He is standing in a workshop and holding a metal pipe which he appears to be measuring the thickness of with a device.Emma Baugh/BBC
Oliver said it was an amazing opportunity to learn about new technology

The Inspire Education Group's facility was designed to ensure learners, employers and the community could adapt to the demands of a low-carbon future.

Green jobs are projected to reach over 440,000 by 2030 and employer demand for green skills grew by 46% last year.

Emma Baugh/BBC Ms Nicholls is smiling at the camera while wearing a red blazer and red flower shirt. She has short blonde hair and blue eyes. Emma Baugh/BBC
"The Centre for Green Technology represents far more than the launch of a new facility - it's a bold statement of intent. It shows what's possible when ambition meets investment, and when education leads from the front," said Rachel Nicholls, chief executive officer

Baroness Taylor said she wanted young people in the region to get jobs that could help protect the environment.

"Colleges like this, whether it is in green technology or other fields, are magnificent at doing that [involving, encouraging and enthusing young people with jobs]," she said.

"[They] help support our young people to get into the jobs, apprenticeships and training places that they need to start them off in their future lives and give them the hope they need for the future."

Emma Baugh/BBC A group of people inside the new facility. They are listening to a man talk. Next to him is a metal table with a red box on top as well as red pliers.Emma Baugh/BBC
The project was partly funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, the Department for Education's Local Skills Improvement Fund, the Inspire Education Group and the Department for Education capital loan scheme

The centre has industry-standard facilities and immersive technology, including a virtual reality wall.

Rachel Nicholls, chief executive officer at the Inspire Education Group, said the centre was a "key milestone".

She said it "reflected a commitment to creating campuses of the future, where learners gain the skills they need, employers find the talent they're looking for and communities benefit from inclusive, sustainable growth".

The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Paul Bristow, said it was tough for people who did not have the right training for the new jobs on offer.

"Few people are aware that the Combined Authority has a big role on skills," he said.

"It's put nearly £3m into getting these impressive facilities open.

"I want our skills funding to mean two things: getting a job and getting a better job. Given its close links with employers, the Centre should be a real boost for Peterborough and the region."

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