First firm ready to move onto i54 site
Work to pave the way for the first company to move on to Wolverhampton's new £67 million i54 business park is set to start next week.
Work to pave the way for the first company to move on to Wolverhampton's new £67 million i54 business park is set to start next week.
But the civil engineering training centre would be there only on a temporary basis with owner Advantage West Midlands (AWM) able to seize the land back at any time.
Leeds-based Hewlett Training is to use part of the site as a purpose built training centre that will replicate the operational environment of a 'live' construction site and provide facilities for a range of accredited training and assessment courses.
It will be on a small part of the 220-acre site off Wobaston Road in Fordhouses that is not required by a major developer for up to five years on the site. The centre is a first for the region, which does not currently have a 'live' construction site dedicated to training.
It will also house administrative offices and classroom facilities and will create around 16 full-time jobs.
Managing Director of Hewlett Civil Engineering, Alan Cooper said: "A training centre which meets the needs of the construction industry does not currently exist in the West Midlands.
Our hope is that the training centre will link local people with a mixture of meaningful training opportunities that will increase skills levels as well as offer work experience and mentoring opportunities that will ultimately support them into employment.
"We are delighted to not only show our commitment to the development of the regions construction capability but to the economic regeneration of the Black Country.
"The help and support we have received from Advantage West Midlands through the planning process has been immeasurable," he added.
Mark Foley, AWM Partnerships Director, said: "We are pleased to be able to support Hewlett in providing training in civil engineering skills that will support construction jobs in the Black Country and the wider region."
Work is set to begin on site within the next week and it is hoped it will be up and running by next year.
Negotiations now are ongoing between regional development quango Advantage West Midlands and also two potential developers including Wolverhampton based aerospace company Moog about possibly moving onto the site.
A deal was originally hoped to have been struck by the end of March but the general election and uncertainty over the future of AWM has held up the decision.
AWM is due to be scrapped by the Government later this year.
