Students from The Manchester College’s Industry Excellence Academy for Construction & Engineering will play a key role in building the college’s new campus thanks to a partnership with Willmott Dixon
Willmott Dixon, who was awarded the £54m contract for the project in August 2020, is sponsoring the students’ on the Architectural & Construction Engineering (ACE) Scholarship programme.
As well as the Industry Excellence Academy for Creative and Digital Industries, the new campus will also become the home of UCEN’s Arden School of Theatre and Manchester Film School.
During the two year course, the students will spend at least 90 days on an industry placement with Willmott Dixon, gaining experience in all aspects of the company, from winning work in the new business, preconstruction and design teams, to delivering quality projects with operations and commercial and finding out about all the innovative and sustainability-driven support and customer teams that set the business apart.
Their classroom-based learning will feature relevant modules, co-developed and co-delivered by Willmott Dixon, to help fill skills gaps in the industry, alongside additional workshops specifically focused on helping the students’ personal development and life skills.
This initiative forms part of Willmott Dixon’s overall purpose, which is to deliver brilliant buildings, transform lives, strengthen communities and enhance the environment so the world is fit for future generations.
‘Opportunities for generations of Mancunians’
Anthony Dillon, managing director for Willmott Dixon in the North, said: “The city centre campus will educate and create exciting opportunities for generations of Mancunians so we’re proud to say these eager and conscientious students will play a part in helping our teams deliver it.
“Our industry needs more skilled people, and this ACE Scholarship, and partnership with The Manchester College, is an outstanding example of how industry and educators can work together to inspire the next generation, create opportunities and develop the construction workers of the future.”
Chris Wright, assistant principal at The Manchester College, added: “We are delighted that Willmott Dixon, as one of the country’s leading businesses in the construction sector, are investing in developing the next generation of talent for the sector.
“Working on the new city centre campus will enable our students to gain experience of a wide variety of techniques many of which are at the cutting edge of how the construction sector will be operating for years to come.
“While developing these skills it is also fantastic that our students will be able to point at a building that will be a mainstay of the Manchester skyline for years to come and say ‘I helped build that’.”
Upon completion of the course, the students will gain a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Construction and Built Environment, an industry and university-recognised qualification equivalent to three A Levels.
