Last week, I was proud to attend the opening of the impressive new UTC Sleeve at Walney School, the culmination of more than two years of hard work and partnership.
The project has attracted significant national media coverage, with The Times highlighting that Barrow is already “ahead of the curve in technical training” and has become a proving ground for a new approach that places academic and vocational routes on an equal footing.
This £2 million technical centre allows students to combine their GCSEs with hands-on technical training in areas such as electronics, engineering and domestic care. It has been developed with the support of local employers and partners including the NHS, BAE Systems, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure and the University of Cumbria.
It was fantastic to meet students who were confident, engaged and clearly proud of what they are achieving. Staff spoke passionately about the opportunities being created, and the quality of the facilities and equipment on offer was outstanding.
I was pleased to catch up with tutors Pete Jewell and Steve McAllister who went through the GSK training school many moons ago, which was seen globally as the gold standard for many years. It was a source of great sadness to me that we were losing those training programmes when GSK closed their doors, so to see these talents being passed on is very welcome news, ensuring our young people will develop the very best skills in engineering.
The UTC Sleeve is an important part of an emerging “Barrow Blueprint” for technical education and skills, demonstrating how local schools, businesses and public sector partners can work together to prepare young people for the opportunities being created right here in our community.
At a time when too many young people are missing out despite the opportunities being created in our area, it is great to see our local schools, businesses and local partners working together so brilliantly on practical solutions.
This is one of the big ways that Team Barrow and this Government’s £220m Barrow Transformation Fund are making a difference in our area.
It was fantastic to meet students who were confident, engaged and clearly proud of what they are achieving. - Michelle