Sunderland college to benefit from £1.3m government investment with plans to support North East engineering, manufacturing and automotive industries

North East students are set to benefit from government backed investment that will place Sunderland College at the forefront of technical skills training in the region.
Sunderland CollegeSunderland College
Sunderland College

In 2016, the college opened its £30 million flagship technical City Campus at Park Lane, Sunderland, equipped with state-of-the-art employer-designed facilities in a number of skills priority areas such as construction, mechanical and electrical engineering, manufacturing and automotive.

To ensure Sunderland College can continue to play a leading role in the region’s rapidly evolving technological advancements, college leaders have secured £1.3 million from the Department for Education’s T Level Capital Fund to drive further enhancements and benefit students across the area.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Investment will see the campus’ technical training environments expanded to support skills demands within the engineering, manufacturing, and automotive industries, including workforce priorities arising from automation, electrification and digitisation.

Ellen Thinnesen, Chief Executive of Education Partnership North East, of which Sunderland College is a part, said: “The North East is already a leader in UK engineering, advanced manufacturing and automotive industries. But as Sunderland and our region continues to strengthen as a centre of excellence in power electronics, machines and digital manufacturing processes, we intend for our college to be at the forefront of the skills revolution needed, sustainable strategy, and importantly, innovative cross sector collaboration.

“I am thrilled with today’s announcements and would like to sincerely thank the Department for Education and our valued business and industry partners for backing this transformative T Level bid.”

At the heart of the investment will be Sunderland College’s new employer designed T Levels in Engineering, Manufacturing and Business Management due to launch in September 2022.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The funding will see the creation of several exciting new additions to the college’s inspiring training resources including a Hybrid Automotive facility, an Automation Innovation training suite, the inclusion of a new Digital Engineering Hub and a A Business Management zone.

Patrick Melia, Chief Executive of Sunderland City Council, said: “I am delighted to hear of this ambitious investment at Sunderland College’s City Campus, including the expansion of world class training facilities in what is already an inspirational technical learning environment.”

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. The Sunderland Echo has been on Wearside since 1873, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come. Click here to subscribe.