Energy Centre

We are delighted to announce we are expanding our provision through a huge investment in an Engineering and Construction Energy Centre, which will open in 2022.

Engineering and Construction sectors are increasingly essential to the growth of a UK economy in post-COVID fragility. Renewable energies are at the heart of national and regional development. The project will provide a much-needed local skills-bank in these priority sectors and have a significant impact by generating jobs for hard-to-fill occupational roles, boosting growth and business confidence, and placing Greater Lincolnshire at the forefront of sustainable technologies innovation.

The project will transform existing Engineering and Link Block spaces at Grantham College to create a cross-disciplinary Engineering and Construction Energy Centre with state-of-the-art, industry-standard equipment.

By upskilling more people in the local area in key and emerging sectors, the new Centre will help to fulfil employer demand, support Grantham’s ambitions and growth point status and ultimately have a positive economic and socio-economic impact on the local area. The project connects with Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s identified priority sectors, including manufacturing and the low carbon economy. It incorporates new provision in electrical engineering, plumbing, gas fitting and renewable energies including solar, wind, and air source heating.

The College has excellent relationships with local employers in associated industries. From Bakkavor, Group Apprenticeship Manager Cian Short notes that, “The food industry has a need now for high level electrical, engineering and project management skills. This need is only going to grow as we further embrace renewable energy and automation. The industry will need to partner with forward-thinking education partners that can help us achieve these skills needs by providing high-quality apprenticeships, qualifications and training that meet our needs now and are agile enough to adapt to our future needs.”

Similarly, Team Manager Robert Muir at Highway Resource Solutions emphasises that, “these sectors are a core requirement of our times, with the wider renewables sector (on and off-shore) having the potential to expand greatly over the coming decades. Each of these services will require knowledgeable people with the right skillsets to support the implementation and servicing needs within each area.”

Managing Director of Heatherose, John Ross, was equally enthusiastic about the Renewable Energy Centre saying, “I am happy to confirm the need for skills in electrical installation and renewables as we are now working with partners developing battery storage technology, and will need to implement installation teams for these products. Battery storage for renewable energy and grid balancing will be a high growth vertical sector and will need well-qualified technicians and electrical installation engineers.”

View our Energy Centre Brochure here: