State-of-the-art Construction Skills Centre takes shape at Wiltshire College

Building work to the new £3.6 million Construction Skills Centre at Wiltshire College Trowbridge is rapidly taking shape.

External work on the steel frame and cladding rails is complete and the internal ground works are very much underway. The original car park is now being dug up and infilled with stone to raise the ground floor to the correct levels.

A crane recently arrived on site to begin loading the composite roof panels, which will take around four weeks to lay. Bricklayers have also commenced first floor block work and initial ground floor brickwork has also begun.

Rydon is employing local businesses to carry out much of the work, including bricklayers from Trowbridge, electricians from Devizes and a mechanical team from Swindon. A former bricklaying student from Wiltshire College also gained invaluable work experience and was involved with some of the early ground works.

Building work started at the beginning of December and was marked with a breaking ground ceremony, which saw staff and students come together with Rydon to celebrate the milestone.

The new 2,303 sq m two-storey building will transform the campus, replacing two existing buildings and providing new facilities for construction trades. It will also enable Wiltshire College to extend the range of courses and trades that it is able to offer to students.

The new centre is designed to meet the growing needs of local employers and the community for courses and apprenticeships. It will be complete for the start of term in September 2014.

Owen Taylor, Site Manager for Rydon, said: “We are very pleased at how well the build is going and are maintaining the building programme despite the recent bad weather. We continue to have support from both the College and users of the College and work extremely closely with the site team.”

Ben Allen, Vice Principal for Business Development, said: “We are delighted with the progress made on the project and are looking forward to this new facility in September. The work experience opportunities provided by having this work on our doorstep will continue to provide our learners with excellent industry experience.”

Pictured (left to right) is Ben Allen, Vice Principal for Business Development at Wiltshire College and Owen Taylor, Site Manager for Rydon. Photo by Trevor Porter.

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