Hull College is to open a £5m green skills training centre to help meet growing demand for workers with expertise in low-carbon construction, retrofit and renewable energy. The college’s School of Construction is a CIOB-approved learning provider.
The Greenwave centre is set to open at the college’s city centre campus in September. It will provide specialist facilities and equipment in areas including sustainable construction, heat pumps, hydrogen technologies, electric vehicles, carbon capture and advanced engineering.
Funded through the government’s Levelling Up Fund, the facility is intended to support the development of the skills needed to deliver the UK’s net-zero ambitions and provide employers with a pipeline of trained workers.
The centre’s facilities will include air and ground-source heat pump training systems, smart building and energy efficiency technologies, solar PV and solar thermal equipment, hydrogen fuel cell technology, wind turbine simulators and specialist welding equipment linked to carbon capture infrastructure.
Hull College said the investment would help expand training routes from entry-level qualifications through to higher education, giving learners access to careers in sectors facing growing skills shortages.
The project was backed by 29 industry partners across the Humber region, reflecting employer demand for greater access to green skills training.
Leading the transition
Debra Gray CBE, principal and CEO of Hull College, said: “The Humber is leading the UK’s transition to a low-carbon economy and the demand for highly skilled people has never been greater.
“Our role is to ensure people across the region have access to outstanding facilities, industry-led training and clear pathways into the careers that will shape the future.”
The training centre’s launch comes as the construction sector faces increasing pressure to develop the workforce needed to deliver energy efficiency improvements, retrofit programmes and lower-carbon buildings.
Greenwave has been welcomed by the Hull and East Yorkshire Local Skills Improvement Plan (HEY LSIP), which identified green skills as a priority area for employers across construction, manufacturing and energy.
Rod Chambers, project lead for HEY LSIP, said the centre would provide opportunities for people to develop the skills employers need as the region strengthens its position in green energy.
“Green skills have been identified by HEY LSIP and its partners as something which is vital to all businesses,” he said. “We see the Greenwave training centre as an exciting addition to the facilities available across the region.”
Dr Diana Taylor, managing director of Future Humber, added that investment in skills would be critical as major energy and industrial projects expand across the region.
“Greenwave is a fantastic example of education and industry coming together to equip people with the skills employers need, while opening up exciting career opportunities for learners of all ages,” she said.
