£2.5m training centre closes its doors as new provider sought

A £2.5 million training centre in Staffordshire has closed with bosses blaming falling student numbers.

Lichfield and Burntwood Vocational Centre, adjacent to Chase Terrace Technology College, opened in 2011 as a state-of-the-art centre offering vocational skills training and education to 14 to 19-year-olds.

However it failed to re-open for the start of the new academic year although Staffordshire County Council saying it is hoping to re-launch the centre.

Council officials said the number of pupils using the Bridge Cross Road centre had fallen to 'double figures' in recent months and all remaining pupils have been transferred to South Staffordshire College to complete their courses.

Chiefs said they are working to bring in a new provider, with two parties already interested in using it for education purposes.

The centre, which is understood to have been run by schools with the help of Government funding, offered courses in engineering, hair and beauty, construction, joinery and trowel trades.

Burntwood North County Councillor Sue Woodward said she had lobbied the council on boosting activity at the centre and has met with County Councillor Ben Adams, cabinet member for learning and skills, to discuss its future potential.

She said: "I know that the centre has been under huge pressure because of changes in national policy and funding arrangements but I was given to believe that these were being addressed with new initiatives being considered.

"It was therefore a shock and disappointment to see its doors closed."

She said she did not want Burntwood losing out to other areas, adding: "It's got great potential for boosting the local economy both in Burntwood and further afield, but at present it has in effect been mothballed. It simply isn't good enough for leaders at Staffordshire County Council to allow this excellent facility to lie idle at a time of skills shortages and also fail to keep local stakeholders and their representatives informed about what's going on."

County Councillor Adams said: "We are still very much committed to the centre and are working towards a solution that will benefit the young people of Burntwood and beyond.

"We currently have two expressions of interest that will ensure the centre's use for education purposes is maintained, and young people in the area are being offered the services they need.

"We will be evaluating these proposals in the next few weeks."

In recent years, the Government announced it was cutting thousands of vocational qualifications from school league tables where they served as GCSE equivalents after it was claimed they had been used for years by schools as an easy way to boost their GCSE league table rankings.