Craven College has been awarded an impressive £2.3 million in capital funding, which will be used to develop Construction and Engineering facilities for its T Level provision.
The College’s successful bid for the T Level Capital Fund Building and Facilities Improvement Grant (Wave 5) will focus on developing the former equine spaces and other units held within its Auction Mart campus in Skipton, with a completion date ready for September 2024 entry.
The new development will continue the College’s ongoing commitment to providing state-of-the-art agricultural engineering and construction learning environments, to ensure that students from North Yorkshire and neighbouring West Yorkshire and East Lancashire have dynamic and practical spaces to learn the skills employers in the rural community and businesses need for the future.
This is the second development to take place at the Auction Mart campus, which is housed on the Craven Cattle Mart complex in Skipton. Its first development, Craven Equine, opened to the public in September 2022 and has thrived as a successful equine learning space and event venue. The successful collaboration between Craven College and Craven Cattle Mart will continue now into its second development.
Interim Principal of Craven College, Anita Lall comments, “We are thrilled to have secured this significant capital funding grant, which allows us to develop our Construction and Engineering T Level provision, as well as provide cutting-edge learning environments for our students in these key industries. The new facilities will ensure our students gain all the necessary skills and knowledge they need for successful employment and will continue the College’s contribution towards supporting our local and regional economy.”
Minister for Skills, Apprenticeship and Higher Education Robert Halfon said, “This boost of over £100 million is our latest investment in T Levels. These are robust, high-quality technical qualifications providing a unique ladder of opportunity for students to gain both classroom knowledge and on-the-job experience.
From robotics suites that support digital T Levels to simulated health wards where students can get a real sense of what it means to work in Healthcare Science, T Levels will support young people into rewarding careers and back businesses with the skills of the future.”
The College also benefitted from capital funding from Wave 3 of the T Level Capital Fund Building and Facilities Improvement Grant of just over £324,000, which was utilised for the development of new science and health laboratories in its Pen-Y-Ghent Building on Aireville campus.
Craven College plans to deliver T Levels in Building Services Engineering and Childcare in 2023 and further T Levels in areas of Agricultural, Land Management & Production, Animal Care & Management, Craft & Design, Design, Surveying & Planning, Digital Production, Design & Development, Media, Broadcast & Production, and Health & Science will commence in September 2024. T Levels are two-year technical level courses, equivalent to three A Levels, that mixes academic classroom learning with ‘on-the-job’ experience.
To find out more about our current T Level provision click here for more details
Main image: Former equine indoor arena space to be developed
