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Heart of Worcestershire College (HoW College) recently celebrated the official opening of their new engineering facilities located in their Cathedral building in Worcester. 

Last month, students, staff and external guests were welcomed to the newly refurbished building to celebrate the long-awaited official opening due to COVID-19 restrictions. The morning started with breakfast and was then followed by guest speaker talks from Phoebe Dawson, Director of Business Engagement at Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, who discussed ‘the new normal and planning for the future’, as well as talks from college staff regarding the history of the building and green technology. Guests were also given the opportunity to explore the newly refurbished building as well as attend the official ribbon cutting ceremony conducted by Robin Walker, Minister of State (Education), Department for Education, Conservative MP for Worcester. 

The newly refurbished Cathedral Building has been transformed into a training centre for the engineering students and offers dedicated workshops and classrooms to give students the best learning opportunities. The Worcestershire LEP invested £3.9m with Heart of Worcestershire College for the development of the Duckworth Centre of Engineering and also the refurbishment of the Cathedral Building facilities via the Government’s Local Growth Fund programme. This has meant that the opening of the Cathedral building has not only allowed HoW College to expand and increase their engineering facilities but has also created enhanced spaces for 3D printing, robotics, electronics and state-of-the-art Mazak machines.  

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said:  

“The Worcestershire LEP is pleased to be able to support the refurbishment of the Cathedral Building facilities. Alongside our other investments via the Local Growth Fund into the Duckworth Centre of Engineering, we are working hard with Heart of Worcestershire College to provide the best training opportunities that supports local residents and attracts those further afield to the county to create Worcestershire’s future workforce.” 

Talking about the refurbishment, Deputy Chief Executive and Vice Principal, Corporate and Resources, Nicki Williams said: 

“Following the opening of our new Duckworth Centre of Engineering in autumn 2019, Heart of Worcestershire College has now completed a full refurbishment of its Cathedral Building located in Deansway. This project builds on the success of the automotive and heating engineering facilities created at the Duckworth Centre, and will further support the increased demand from employers to tackle a shortage of engineering skills in the area.

Investment in this centre providing an enhanced range of industry standard engineering, 3D printing, robotics, electronic and electrical training facilities, including state of the art Mazak machines,  will benefit further education, higher education and apprentices and demonstrates our continued commitment to improving skills and training for our learners and apprentices, which is central to boosting economic growth across the county.

We are delighted to have secured support from the Worcestershire LEP for this development and look forward to further strengthening our links with employers in this enhanced facility."

This is an exciting opportunity for the students at HoW College to ensure they are receiving the best possible learning opportunities and experiences to help them grow and progress in their studies.