City of Wolverhampton college helps to build the future with 1.93m project

The project comes as the City of Wolverhampton continues to develop on their Paget Road and Wellington Road campuses to provide bigger and better learning environments for their students.

The college recently injected £1.93 million pounds into the Construction Innovation Centre as part of the ongoing developments, providing new state-of-the-art classrooms and equipment for students to use.

Mel Cowgill, principal of the City of Wolverhampton College, said: "We have some really good, exciting things going on here. What this is all really about is making sure that we don't end up in the same place that we did with our building on Paget Road.

"If you have been to Paget Road it's nothing like this site, this is a really nice ground. It's configured by students and they love learning in this kind of environment, we have some great workshops here and Paget Road is getting a little old."

In a tour provided by the college, representatives showcased the facilities, boasting new classrooms and more learning spaces, as well as new mezzanine areas to house electrical and plumbing workshops.

Peter Merry vice principal, said: "For us, as a college, this is about realising our potential as a learning environment and reviving our college's purpose, which is defining futures – and this really embodies what we are trying to do here.

"We are also going through a process now of totally transforming the entirety of the Paget estate, and making sure that we are fit for purpose for the long term."

Representatives pointed out the need for investment into skills in the Wolverhampton area, with Mr Merry saying that these developments show that the college is ready to meet the aspirations of young people looking for work.

The college now boasts more dedicated workshops for the trades, including brickwork, carpentry, plumbing and electrics.

Owen Glynne, A bricklaying student of the 2023 academic year, said: "I think the changes are so much better, the new facilities make learning at the college so much better in the long term.

"I think that these improvements will make the rest of the course a lot more exciting, I really think that these new improvements will encourage more people to study here. We need more people in the trades and the facilities will help convince people to come here."

A new hair salon is also open to the public, with apprentice and trainee hairdressers on hand to provide a range of services as part of their education.

The salon is equipped with 18 hairdressing and barbering stations staffed by trained stylists, as well as students and apprentices, who are gaining hands-on experience with their degrees.

Teleah Townsend, an apprentice stylist at the college, said: "I have really just started in October, I really think the facilities are quite nice, they are really the same that you would see in an actual salon.

The new salon replaces the college's Academy training salon at the Metro One Campus in the city centre, which is being redeveloped as part of the £50 million City Learning Quarter project.

An anticipated part of the developments is the welcoming of the new Careers and Skills Hub, which provides career advice, employment skills and interview preparation for those looking to get into work.

The centre, developed by the college in partnership with the Departments of Work and Pensions, also helps people to find job vacancies with local employers and apprenticeship opportunities or college courses.

The new Careers and Skills hub is open for people to drop in from 9am to 6.30pm Monday to Thursday, and 9am to 4.30pm on Friday. Appointments can also be booked for Saturdays.