Innovation centre opens to provide ‘green’ skills

6 hours ago

Ben MarvellWiltshire

Wiltshire College & University Centre A large solar panel seen leaning on a stand, as people talk in groups in the background at the opening of the new green skills centre.

A new training facility, designed to bolster the UK’s growing green energy workforce, has opened on a college campus.

The Green Skills Innovation Centre opened on Thursday as part of a collaboration between Wiltshire College & University Centre’s Lackham Campus and renewable energy company Good Energy.

Bosses at the £500,000 facility say it will provide training in the installation and maintenance of technologies such as heat pumps, battery storage and solar panels.

Iain Hatt from the college said: “Our Green Skills Innovation Centre is designed to help employers understand what is possible with today’s renewable technologies and to provide the skilled workforce required to deliver it.”

Wiltshire College & University Centre Four adults stand together, with MP Sarah Gibson cutting a green ribbon to open a new training facility.

Hatt, principal & chief executive of the college, added: “Together, we will help students and employers gain the confidence and capability to seize the opportunities of the green transition.”

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The centre, part‑funded by Wiltshire Council’s Shared Prosperity Fund, includes training bays where students can learn how to install heat pumps and a replica roof to train students on solar panel installation.

About 200 students are expected to use the facility every year as part of the college’s construction course.

Short courses will also be provided for existing plumbers, electricians and builders to develop their skills.

Wiltshire College & University Centre A bald man stands looking an information board, with a diagram of an air source heat pump. A real pump has been installed to his right.

The launch follows the publication of the government’s Clean Energy 2030 action plan, which calls for a “a secure and affordable energy supply and the creation of essential new energy industries,” supported by thousands of skilled workers.

Carl Hogg, services managing director at Good Energy, said: “If we want to cut carbon in millions of homes and businesses, we need skilled specialists to deliver it.

“This centre is exactly the kind of investment the UK needs to meet its Clean Energy 2030 goals.”

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