Cirencester College officially opens Gloucestershire Digital Skills Centre

The £4.48m new development is set to transform digital education at Cirencester College with the most modern techniques and technology.

The £4.48m new development is set to transform digital education at Cirencester College with the most modern techniques and technology. The new centre was funded by the Government’s ‘Getting Building Fund’ programme through GFirst LEP and was part of a total of £11.3 million bid split between five different projects within the county.

This project aligns strongly with the Local Industrial Strategy ambitions and contributes to all 5 of the foundations of productivity. In many ways it is a missing piece in the jigsaw, through addressing local and national demands for skills and the needs of people to gain skills and not be left behind by the growth of high-value employment.

The inspirational centre’s design creates a professional training environment with emphasis on the wellbeing of those working and studying within it and the green campus outside. It will enable Cirencester College to attract students, staff and employers and substantially increase the capacity to deliver essential skills needed in the future for Gloucestershire.

The Gloucestershire Digital Skills Centre will also provide:

• Significantly more young talent skilled in programming, software development, IT Support and digital business services
• Learners with industry standard technology, particularly security and networking
• Expanded digital apprenticeships
• New provision including data science, content creation and digital marketing (all the new T-levels will have significant digital elements)
• Adult technical upskilling and career changing hub
• A ‘Smart Cirencester’ hub focusing upon ‘smart homes’ & ‘Internet of Things’ contributing to Gloucestershire’s Zero Carbon target
• Innovative digital careers education model including employer engagement and school events following STEM template

David Owen, CEO of GFirst LEP said: “We at GFirst LEP are really pleased to have funded and now see the opening of the Digital Skills Centre at Cirencester College. We know that digital and cyber will be key drivers in our Gloucestershire economy and this centre is a brilliant opportunity to help train the next talent pool we need to grow this sector. Cirencester College have been fantastic delivery partners and created an inspiring facility.”

Jim Grant, Principal of Cirencester College said: “We are extremely proud of this new facility, this is a really important building for us as a College. It is part of the challenge to reintroduce digital skills post 16 after many drop IT related studies in schools. Today, digital skills are a major part of all of our lives, at home and in work, and it is our plan to develop these skills in all of our learners not just those who study IT related courses.”

For more information, please visit Cirencester College’s website.