£12m Engineering Training Centre development at Middlesbrough College

Applebridge Construction appointed to £12m Engineering Training Centre development at Middlesbrough College

Applebridge Construction has been appointed by Morgan Sindall Construction to carry out foundation works at Middlesbrough College’s new state-of-the-art engineering facility.

The multi-million-pound engineering centre will act as a replacement and relocation of the College’s current TTE site and could transform Teesside’s net zero aims.

Being developed on the College’s Middlehaven campus, the new facility, which is due to open in September 2024, will train over 300 full-time students, 300 apprentices and 500 adults each year, alongside a thriving international cohort of students.

Applebridge will support on creating the foundations, floor slabs, drainage and attenuation, as well as first floor slabs and external works.

Group Operations Director Andy Ray said:

“Middlesbrough College Group is the largest engineering training provider for school leavers in the country and it is an exciting project for Applebridge to get involved in on several fronts.

“Not only is it the start of a new working relationship with Morgan Sindall Construction, but it’s once again an opportunity to help the educational infrastructure of our region. The engineering and trades industry has been dealing with a skills shortage through recent years and this investment in Teesside will bring about new opportunities and encourage the next generation of North East engineers.”

Alex Isted, area director from Morgan Sindall Construction, said:

“We’re delighted to have appointed Applebridge Construction to be part of the team that will deliver this exciting new training centre for Middlesborough College.

“The training that will be delivered at this facility when complete will help create a skilled workforce for the sectors that will be instrumental in net-zero targets being reached.”

College Principal Zoe Lewis has stated an ambition for the facility to support the expansion of renewable energy in the region, with no fewer than 36,000 jobs in offshore wind expected to be created in the next 12 years.

Zoe Lewis said:

“Once complete, the facility will complement the already extensive STEM offer at our campus in Middlehaven and cement the college as one of the UK’s largest Engineering training providers in the country with state of the art, ‘real scale’ industrial equipment and industrial specialist staff, which will support the region’s existing and emerging businesses.

“We’re particularly pleased that the new site will also allow us to expand into new sectors such as clean, green and renewable energy, retrofit, zero carbon and offshore high voltage, securing technical skills that are in demand and valued by local employers and giving young people greater access to the careers which will shape all our futures.”