South Devon College receives £1.5m grant

South Devon College has been awarded £1.5 million in funding to develop a centre focused on training and upskilling the workforce in the booming growth industries of green skills and energy technologies. 

The funding, from Devon County Council and Torbay Council’s Devolution Deal, will be spent on the remodelling and expansion of the South West Energy Centre, the renewable energy training facility for emerging technologies based at the College. 

The 1,800 sq m centre currently includes a large construction hall, display area, classrooms and cafe, along with a large plant room and, thanks to the Government funding, it will become a centre for green skills and energy with the installation of specialist training equipment and professional curriculum provisions. 

The renovation will include the reconfiguration of the large workshop on the ground floor and creation of a new mezzanine level, providing extra teaching and workshop space, including a synoptic testing area, seminar and meeting rooms. 

The focus will be on green skills, plumbing and electrical studies, and will see facilities and equipment introduced to provide training and qualifications on sustainable technologies such as air source/ground source heat pumps and EV charger installation.

Above: South Devon College's South West Energy Centre. Image: Graham Gaunt Photowork

This will be accompanied by new and updated IT, including AI features. 

The redevelopment will start this month with the updated centre due to be up and running by the end of March 2025. 

This state-of-the-art centre will contribute to green jobs, leading to business growth, both locally and nationally, along with a highly skilled workforce trained in new and emerging sustainable technologies. 

College principal and CEO Laurence Frewin said: "The South West Energy Centre is an important facility aligned with local skills need. As a College we’ve gained a reputation as leaders in our sector for sustainability and we’re now very proud to offer this as a regional centre of excellence for training in green skills and advanced energy technologies.” 

The funding for the college is part of a wider £16 million of capital funding from the Devolution Deal, spread across 16 projects, including housing, sustainable technology and employability skills, to facilitate Devon and Torbay’s transition to a net-zero economy.