Minister for Employment guest of honour for behind-the-scenes tour of Plymouth’s UTC

Minister for Employment, Mark Hoban, and local MP Oliver Colvile were guests of honour for a behind-the-scenes tour of Plymouth’s brand new University Technical College which is set to open its doors for the first time in September.

The special guests were shown the progress of the new college on the former Parkside School site in Devonport, Plymouth. Alongside the tour, they were given an insight into the unique opportunities that the UTC will give to students.

Led by Principal Mary Cox and Vice Principal, Peter Robinson, the VIP guests were also accompanied by four of the recently elected employer governors: Dr Stephen Hobbs, Rittal-CSM Ltd; Mark Newcombe, Tooltech; Stuart Calvert, MGBL; Nick Tripp, Spinnaker, and another employer partner, Steve Cardew, from Kawasaki Precision Machinery.

Among a new generation of government-funded, industry-designed science and technology colleges, UTC Plymouth was founded by Plymouth University, City College Plymouth and Plymouth City Council. What sets the UTC apart from other schools and colleges is the close collaboration with over 30 local employer partners to deliver a curriculum closely linked with the demand for skills and expertise needed in industry.

Based in Devonport, Plymouth, the UTC has received £8m in funding for the development of the new college and has invested in high-quality learning spaces, equipment and workshops. When it officially opens in September, it will have places for at least 150 students across Years 10 and 12, rising to a capacity of 600 plus by September 2017.

Principal Mary Cox spoke of the opportunities that UTC presents for local students and employers: “Working in close collaboration to deliver the curriculum and live projects will help to provide employers with a well-educated and skilled workforce for the future.”

“The curriculum at the UTC will help boost the employability of our students, equipping them not only with great engineering skills but also the communication and interpersonal skills that will help them to thrive in the workplace.”

“The combination of working with local employers and our team of staff, who also have an industrial background, will help to deliver a sound technical education. We firmly believe that this will help all students flourish with an applied education, including those who otherwise wouldn’t with a purely academic education.”

“Whilst equipping our students with the expertise needed in the workplace, it’s also important to stress that the UTC will continue to provide a sound academic education to allow our students to progress to further or higher education should they wish.”

Dr Stephen Hobbs, Managing Director of Rittal-CSM, said: “It is essential that we feed good technical education into the city. It is important that we link young people’s education with practical application to increase their employability.”

Discussing the need for local expertise, Mark Newcombe, Managing Director of Tooltech, added: We’re currently recruiting but are finding it difficult to find individuals in the local region who have the necessary skills.”

Supporting Mr Newcombe’s experience, Stuart Calvert, Managing Director of MGBL, said; “I currently outsource 18 engineers from around the world, but I would like those opportunities to come back to Plymouth.”

Explaining the first employer-led project, Mary Cox told the VIP guests how students will be working alongside Princess Yachts using product design, CAD / CAM, 3D printers and the University’s wave tank to design, build and test a new hull for a Princess Yacht.

Following the tour and talks from the UTC Plymouth team, both Mr Colvile and Mr Hoban expressed great excitement at the addition of the UTC to the local area and the South West as a whole, believing that it will help to fill the gap in the demand for young engineers and technicians in the area.

UTC Plymouth will be holding its next open evening for prospective parents and students on Tuesday 25 June from 5:45pm at the Main Hall, Plymouth University. For more information and to register to attend the open evening, visit www.utcplymouth.org.