Dudley will be Black Country training hub in £450m deal
Dudley is set to become a major hub for new skills under the £450m five-year Growth Deal for the Black Country unveiled today.
Training a new generation of engineers, builders, scientists and managers is seen as key to hopes of developing the Black Country's role as a UK centre for advanced engineering.
One of the biggest schemes will be the building of the Dudley Advance Centre for Advanced Building Technologies & Construction.
Part of Dudley College, the centre will be made up of more than 47,000 sq ft of new teaching and workshop facilities.
The scheme, due to start next April, will complete the £48m investment to create the college's Dudley Advance project.
The intention is that the new centre will be a UK leader in the use of Building Information Modelling, the latest 3-D computer modelling system used to design buildings digitally before one brick is placed on another.
Under plans drawn up by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership, the centre will boost the skills of more than 3,250 people in the first five years and ensure the area's construction sector is ready for the development opportunities from the High Speed 2 railway project.
The centre also has strong business backing from companies including Carillion, Stepnell, Skanska and Interserve.
Another £3 million is being invested in a 1,300 sq m Advanced Science, Engineering and Technology Skills Centre at Coombs Wood Business Park, which will be part of Halesowen College.
