Colchester Institute and leading plant hire and infrastructure specialist L Lynch Plant Hire & Haulage have officially launched a new Construction Training Centre in Colchester designed to support the significant and growing demand for skilled plant operatives across major infrastructure projects in the East of England, including Sizewell C, National Grid and the Lower Thames Crossing.
The launch event, which was held on Thursday 11th June, welcomed staff, employers, industry professionals and learners from the first cohort, to explore the new facilities and learn more about the training opportunities available through this significant partnership.
Visitors met the teams delivering the new short course programmes and undertook guided tours of the equipment and new facilities at the Colchester Campus which includes specially designed obstacles within the training compound, designed to replicate site conditions.
Attendees also learned more about funded training opportunities designed to equip individuals with the practical skills and industry knowledge required to access careers within the infrastructure construction sector. The partnership will deliver specialist programmes, including Plant Operator Programme and Traffic Marshall and Roller Programme
Gary Horne MBE, Deputy Chief Executive at Colchester Institute, said, “I am delighted we have been able to realise this project in record time. From initial training needs conversations to supporting learners in the space of 8 months demonstrates the partnership strength of two organisations committed to training local people for jobs in high demand. The scale of regional clean energy infrastructure development has never been greater, and we are determined to ensure our residents can take advantage of the career opportunities on offer”
Adam Ward, Assistant Principal at Colchester Institute, said, “This is an important early milestone in our journey as a Clean Energy Technical Excellence College. Supporting adults to access high profile, in demand careers is clearly a key strategic priority as is providing a pipeline of skills and labour for the clean energy sector. We are grateful for the support from Lynch and ECC in making the delivery of these bootcamp programmes possible”.
The launch marks the beginning of an exciting collaboration that will help connect individuals with high-quality training opportunities, leading directly to employment and long-term careers in the plant machinery construction industry.
The training centre has been created on unused land that was a legacy following removal of a temporary building in 2021. Gary Horne MBE added “Our colleagues at Lynch have done us proud in developing the facility almost entirely from recycled materials. They were able to dig out pad footings from the previous temporary block and use them as site protection hoardings, and we have been able to utilise bricks and rubble from our workshops and current building projects underway elsewhere on the site, which totally aligns to our environmental and sustainability strategy”
Furthermore, the plant and equipment used to train new drivers will run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and eventually it is expected that Hydrogen powered equipment will also be in use.
Ruairi Coffey, Head of Skills and Sustainability at L Lynch said “This partnership demonstrates what can be achieved when industry and education work together with a shared purpose. It’s about creating opportunities for local people, strengthening the construction workforce and ensuring we have the skilled professionals needed to deliver the infrastructure that will shape Britain’s future.”
The partnership will work with the Department for Work and Pensions to secure recruits to the intensive programmes that start immediately, with an initial target of 96 trained operatives this year.
