Sizewell C and West Suffolk College partner to deliver new skills

Sizewell C and its consortium have signed an agreement with the Eastern College Group to deliver training for the future workforce of the power station.

The agreement covers West Suffolk College and Abbeygate Sixth Form College in Bury St Edmunds and One Sixth Form College in Ipswich – and will underline key areas of focus for the partnership to ensure local people have the skills to take part in the project.

Areas the agreement covers include:

• Supporting the development of T-Level Engineering pilot programmes in partnership with the National College for Nuclear and the delivery of new engineering and construction qualifications.
• Working with the STEM Innovation Campus to enhance its Science, Engineering and Computing course provision to meet the growing needs of Sizewell C, and wider regional projects
• Supporting the promotion of engineering pre-apprenticeships, and non-engineering based courses and apprenticeship, such as business and administration to support the diverse areas of skills the project needs
• Exploring new vocational Level 3, 4 and 5 curriculum and apprenticeships that align with the opportunities being created at Sizewell C in both the construction and operational phase in areas such as Digital, Project Management and Commercial.

Speaking at the West Suffolk Business Festival event, Julia Pyke, Sizewell C director, said: “This reaffirms the commitment of the Sizewell C supply chain to the East of England. By signing agreements such as this with West Suffolk College we will ensure that local people can benefit from new skills and rewarding long-term careers with Sizewell C and other projects in the region.”

Dr Nikos Savvas, CEO of the Eastern Colleges Group (which includes West Suffolk College, Abbeygate Sixth Form and One Sixth Form), said: “The Eastern Colleges Group is at the forefront of education in this region and boosting the local and national economy by providing skills for major projects, such as Sizewell C. West Suffolk College is already a National College for Nuclear approved provider and the region’s flagship National Skills Academy Nuclear (NSAN) accredited provider, so we are ideally placed to spearhead the skills supply chain, bringing nationally recognised qualifications and economic opportunities to local learners.”

Sizewell C and skills in the East

Working with Education and Academic Partners, Sizewell C will build on the learning of Hinkley Point C by developing at least five regional ‘centres of excellence’ through a networked delivery model across key areas in:

1. Civil Engineering
2. Welding
3. Electrical Engineering
4. Mechanical Engineering & Fabrication
5. Sustainable Agri-food

Working with Education and Academic Partners, Sizewell C will support the creation of an ‘Eastern Hub’ with the National College for Nuclear. This virtual hub, connecting all Suffolk education and academic partners, will complement similar hubs being developed in the South West and North West regions, providing a collaborative approach to course delivery, access to specialist industry mentors and trainers, and shared learning opportunities.

The consortium of companies signing the agreement are all ‘Tier 1’ – which means they are companies taking on major commercial infrastructure projects and have the expertise, resources and finances to take on large-scale projects.

Notes to Editors

1) The Eastern Colleges Group is a collective of post-16 education providers (West Suffolk College, Abbeygate Sixth Form and One Sixth Form), sharing the same strategic aims and is committed to providing outstanding vocational and academic excellence to over 15,000 students across the region. For more information about the Eastern College’s Group, please contact Rebecca.Messenger@wsc.ac.uk.

2) For more information about Sizewell C, please contact marjorie.barnes@sizewellc.com