City of Bristol College has won a consortium bid with four other colleges from the region and support from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, and secured over £1.25 million of Government funding to improve skills and create jobs in the green technologies sector.
                                  
The project, which is part of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, will seek to create 523 new jobs in the region. This will be achieved by ensuring that businesses have the skills to install green technologies in homes across the West of England to meet the Government’s 2020 carbon reduction targets.

The funding will be used to enable the five colleges to deliver specialist training to fit low carbon technologies in homes across the region. The grant will also be used to improve the ability of regional workforces in fitting the technology, and to generate consumer demand for the uptake of the services.

It is estimated that approximately 375,000 homes in the West of England need energy-saving measures to meet the Government’s target of a 34% reduction of carbon emissions by 2020 (against the 1990 level).

The project will offer a welcome boost to the construction, building services, engineering and energy sectors in the West by not only creating new jobs but also by safeguarding 950 existing jobs in the region.

City of Bristol College led the bid and worked with City of Bath, Norton Radstock, Filton and Weston Colleges and the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership to secure the funding. The grant will be used to create specialist training facilities at these colleges and to subsidise the cost of training to employers.

The project is part of the Government’s £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund (RGF), which will support 119 bids from businesses and local partnerships with projects to expand their operations, create new jobs and attract private investment.

Keith Elliott, Principal of City of Bristol College, comments: “The funding offers a much-needed boost to sectors in the region which have been badly affected by the recession. The project highlights the region’s importance in terms of green technologies and carbon reduction. By focusing on improving skills in this sector, the region will benefit from not only more carbon efficient homes, but also an enhanced economy.

“By bringing together the region’s five largest further education colleges, the project shows how effective collaborative working can be in supporting employment and skills.”

Colin Skellett, Chairman of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “The bid goes to the heart of the LEP's vision to create a green and sustainable economy, and the LEP will be working closely with colleges and other skills providers to deliver the project over the next two to three years.”

The project is due to complete in 2014, when training will continue to be delivered.

The consortium is the only FE college-led partnership from the South West to have secured funding in the second round.