Home Secretary praises Castleford College for “supporting good quality local jobs” during recent visit

The development – an expansion of the college’s current facilities – will provide students from a variety of construction disciplines with a large space and innovative technologies to enhance their learning.

Speaking about the development, Ms Cooper said: “Castleford College’s new building dedicated to training and apprenticeships is a great opportunity for local young people.

“The College is becoming a real centre for excellence for construction skills at a time when we need more young people starting apprenticeships.

“It’s great to see the college going from strength to strength and supporting good quality local jobs.”

During her visit, Ms Cooper was given a tour of the development by the college’s principal and local college director, and spoke to students about how their qualifications are preparing them for construction careers.

During the tour, Ms Cooper also visited a stakeholder event hosted by the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, which invited local and national employers and partners to help shape the group’s curriculum strategy.

Attendees discussed how the curriculum can help to meet local, regional and national skills needs by aligning with industry demands.

Sam Wright, Principal and Chief Executive at the college, said: “Developing an education offer which is responsive to the skills needs of our region is incredibly important to us at the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group.

“That is why we regularly engage with external stakeholders to help shape our curriculum and continuously invest in our facilities to create realistic and immersive learning environments for our students.

“It was a pleasure to be able to demonstrate this to the Home Secretary and to further discuss how the College can support skills development in our district.”

The Castleford College campus was built in 2009. The college delivers a variety of T Level, vocational, part-time adult, and professional courses as well as apprenticeships. It offers courses in subjects including childcare, construction, engineering, hair and beauty, and more, as well as

degree-level Engineering and Construction programmes with the University Centre at the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group.