Havering College celebrates launch of new construction careers college in Rainham
Lord Baker on his visit to the Rainham Construction campus at Havering College. - Credit: Archant
Havering College held a special event on Tuesday to mark the official launch of its new specialist construction careers college.
The institution has been awarded career college status for Construction & Engineering by the Career Colleges Trust after receiving the backing of a conglomerate of east London’s biggest employers.
At a special event to mark the opening of the new centre, the former education secretary and founder of the Career Colleges Trust, Lord Baker, was joined by students and employers.
Speaking at the launch, Asfa Sohail, Havering College vice principal, said: “As a career college, we will provide our learners with established, recognised and meaningful qualifications.
“With our strong focus on employer engagement, we are able to nurture a workforce that employers are really looking for. The demand for skilled young people in the construction and engineering sectors has never been higher.
“Alongside technical ability, we place great emphasis on addressing the UK’s current failings in basic literacy and numeracy skills, which are negatively impacting the construction and engineering industries nationwide.”
As part of a drive to have the college cement itself as a centre of excellence for construction and engineering, its Rainham campus in New Road is also the proposed home of a new Construction, Infrastructure Skills and Innovation Centre (CISIC).
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In September, plans for the CISIC’s innovative £11m campus were greenlit by Havering Council.
Lord Baker said: “Being part of the Career Colleges network will make a huge difference to students at CISIC, who will be equipped with real world skills - a benefit to them and UK construction.”
Alongside its status as a career college, CISIC is predicted to deliver a contribution of over £30m to the local economy over the next ten years.
Lord Baker was joined at the launch by learners who will form the first cohort at CISIC, and several of the employers backing the new development.
John Bryson, from developers L&Q, said: “Our organisation needs to build hundreds of thousands of homes in the next decade, and to achieve this we need to employ thousands of skilled individuals.
“Better engagement with employers is something the UK education system is in need of, and it’s something that Havering College is excellent at.”
