Introduction
The Council and its partners have established an employment and skills centre to bring together a range of organisations to help local people find employment. The Council has also granted planning permission for a number of training facilities to ensure that local people are able to acquire the necessary skills for employment related to Hinkley Point C.
Training facilities
The Council has granted planning permission for a number of ’state of the art’ training facilities which will enable people to develop the skills required for careers in the energy sector and wider construction and engineering sectors. They will enable local people to access employment related to Hinkley Point C and will create a well skilled local skill base which has the potential to attract further investment to the area. These training facilities include:
The National College for Nuclear (Southern), Cannington
The National College for Nuclear is one of only two such facilities that will be located in the UK (a Centre will also be located in Cumbria). The Centre at Cannington includes a virtual reality environment, a reactor simulator and computer equipped training rooms.
The Energy Skills Centre, Bridgwater
The Energy Skills Centre provides practical training in engineering, low carbon and nuclear related technologies. The Centre is equipped with a welding and fabrication workshop, laboratories, facilities for computer aided design and CNC manufacturing. An outdoor training area is situated on the roof, which includes a 6KW wind turbine and photovoltaic panels. The Centre was the first of its kind to be located within the South West.
The Advanced Engineering Centre, Bridgwater
The Advanced Engineering Centre compliments the provision delivered by the Energy Skills Centre and pays particular regard to apprenticeships.
The Construction, Skills and Innovation Centre, Cannington
The Construction, Skills and Innovation Centre replicates a real-life construction site including plant, machinery and equipment of industry standard.
Education, Employment and Skills – Section 106 report for the Local Authority, six-monthly report
For more information, please see the most recent report on the range of activity being delivered by EDF for education, employment and skills.