20.06.14
Interest in north east’s first Rail Academy ‘exceeding expectations’
Work on Newcastle College’s £5m state-of-the-art Rail Academy in Gateshead is well underway, with interest for places at the facility is “exceeding expectations”.
The Academy, the first of its kind in the north east, is due to open in September and will become a regional hub for railway engineering.
Carole Kitching, principal of Newcastle College, visited the site to see how plans are taking shape. So far the contractors, Bowman and Kirkland, have stripped the building back to the original skeleton frame and replaced the old roof. In the coming weeks they will add the external cladding and start to fit out the classrooms and offices.
Kitching: “It’s exciting to see our ambitious plans to develop a Rail Academy taking shape so quickly. It’s become clear that young people and adults in the north-east are just as excited by the training and employment opportunities in the rail industry as we are. Applications for places in September are pouring in daily and we are encouraging people to apply as soon as possible.”
Developed with support from the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) and Network Rail, the Newcastle-based Ryder Architecture designed Rail Academy will create “life-changing” opportunities for local people by offering them the skills and training.
Gil Howarth, NSARE’s chief executive, said “NSARE is proud to support this excellent initiative which will provide a centre of excellence for railway engineering training in the north east. It is vital that we attract young people into our buoyant industry – we need a highly competent workforce to support record levels of investment.”
The Academy will provide opportunities to all age groups, including young people looking to develop a career in the rail sector, those wanting to change career and employers who need to up skill or cross skill their existing work force or simply recruit for future growth.
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