College courses over-subscribed as students opt for vocational training.
Skills minister Phil Hope has opened Europe’s largest construction centre at South Birmingham College this week, with courses already over-subscribed. The college, which will offer training in plumbing, bricklaying and tiling is now looking for more experienced tradespeople to instruct the new intake of students.
The college’s director of construction Ian Browne said it was “an excellent opportunity for skilled tradesmen to help preserve the skills of the industry and pass on their knowledge to a new generation.” He said it was an opportunity for a change of career for those who wanted not just to help create a more qualified workforce, but to invest in the skills that would sustain the economic growth that had been experienced in the UK in the last seven years.
Mr Hope praised the college, saying that the £18.5m centre, which was built on derelict land, would offer the kind of high-quality training that would mean vocational courses were no longer viewed as “second best”.
