A new construction training centre in Swansea will help train up to 1,100 workers a year…
Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC), which will cost some £6.5m, expects to train 1,100 people a year, expanding the construction workforce in the region.
It is hoped the project will offer high quality training for construction firms and tradesmen alike. It will be headquartered at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) new Swansea Waterfront Innovation Quarter.
The venture is being undertaken by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and a consortium led by UWTSD. The project will also see smaller sites located at a number of colleges across Wales, including Coleg Sir Gar.
Construction on the CWIC is set to start at the end of the year, with the aim of opening the centre at the same time as the waterfront campus in September 2018.
The centre will enable testing of areas such as structural performance and develop applied research in the field. It will also help develop new skills in the existing workforce, particularly in areas such as BIM and energy efficiency.
CITB Wales’ strategic partnership director Mark Bodger said: “This landmark partnership will ensure we have the right skills in place to meet our industry’s current and future needs.
“This exciting new centre will be a major step forward for the construction industry in Wales and help it become a leader in digital and modern construction and the repair of traditional buildings and heritage sites.”
Donna Griffiths, partnerships manager at CITB, also commented: “The CWIC will, for the first time, deliver an integrated career pathway between craft, trade and professional construction occupations across the whole of Wales.”
The Federation of Master Builders revealed Wales requires an additional 14,000 homes per year up to 2020 to meet housing demands in the nation. With a mounting skills shortage in the sector facilities such as CWIC will prove invaluable in training the next generation.