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A brand new vocational centre which will provide further educational opportunities for hundreds of local youngsters was officially opened in Leicestershire this weekend. The £400,000 state-of-the-art and environmentally sound facility at Countesthorpe Community College was unveiled on Saturday (11th September) by Margaret Allen, East Midlands Director of the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) as part of the college’s 40th anniversary celebrations. A total of 125 students will start the new academic year at the centre, which provides space to learn bricklaying, hairdressing, beauty therapy, joinery, IT and vehicle maintenance. This number is expected to rise to 230 students within two years and there will also be the possibility of evening adult learning classes taking place. Five new tutors have also been employed. Built in partnership between the College and Westleigh, the 3,800 sq ft, single storey building, named the Westleigh Vocational Academy, houses five workshops and one theory classroom, each able to cater for up to 14 students at a time. Margaret Allen comments, “I am proud to be invited to open this centre, and as a Leicestershire resident myself I can vouch that it will be a real asset to the local community. It is a fantastic example of how housing providers, educational facilities and local authorities are coming together to address the skills agenda, which in this case is resulting in a first class training facility for local people.” Brian Myatt, Principal at Countesthorpe Community College, says, “We are delighted to open our new vocational academy, a fantastic purpose built facility which will benefit the whole community. We knew Westleigh Developments would build us something special but what it has done is build us something exceptional, the first of its kind in Leicestershire and in record time of just nine months. The Westleigh Vocational Academy offers outstanding provision and is finished to the highest quality. This is exactly what working together in partnership with local industry is all about and to the benefit of the local community.” Ian Jones, Business Development Manager at Westleigh comments, “The brand new vocational academy at Countesthorpe College provides a long-term sustainable training facility for students both pre and post 16. As a company we strongly believe in the importance of apprenticeships and have recruited three or four every year for a number of years. Not only do we hope to take on youngsters who graduate through this centre, but there is also potential for it to provide apprentices to other developers and contractors in the area.” |
