Lord David Blunkett Opens Barnsley college's new Construction Centre (The CUBE)

Lord David Blunkett officially opened Barnsley College’s new Construction Centre, also known as the CUBE, in a ribbon cutting ceremony on 11 March 2016.

The grand opening began with a welcome by the Principal of Barnsley College, Christopher Webb, followed by a speech from Lord David Blunkett who spoke about memories of his time as a tutor at the college. The new £10.8m building was then officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony and unveiling of a plaque which was also translated into Braille.

Guests included The Mayor of Barnsley Councillor Brian Mathers, Michael Dugher MP, Dan Jarvis MP, Dickie Bird and representatives from Bond Bryan Architects and BAM Construction who were involved with design and build of new Centre. Visitors were invited to see the excellent facilities, workshops and specialist equipment for courses offered at the Centre in Bricklaying, Carpentry and Joinery, Dry Lining, Painting and Decorating, Plastering, Wall and Floor Tiling and Professional Studies.

The college’s Construction students provided demonstrations and guests, including Lord Blunkett, had the opportunity to speak to them to find out how the new centre is helping to equip them with the necessary skills required for a successful career within the construction industry.

Barnsley College Principal Christopher Webb said: “We would like to thank Lord David Blunkett for coming along to officially open our new site. It was an excellent way to mark the new chapter for our Construction students.

“With a projected skills shortage in the Construction industries this is the perfect time for Barnsley College to invest in construction education. The new building houses some fantastic industry specialist facilities in order to provide our students with as much ‘real life’ experience as possible. It offers education in all the necessary skills so that our students can really build on their construction careers.”

For more information on Construction courses at Barnsley College call 01226 216 123 or email info@barnsley.ac.uk.

Pacy & Wheatley Site Visit

Barnsley College Construction students were invited by Pacy & Wheatley Construction to visit their site in Cudworth and tour their current build project.

Pacy & Wheatley are a highly respected construction company for the Healthcare, Education & Commercial arenas, they are based in Doncaster and have been established since 1968.

Students were inducted to the site before being presented with information about the company, the team and the actual project before going on a tour of the whole site.

The students were shown around by the Construction Manager - Joe Ridgeway and the Site Manager Keith Gill.  It was very informative and the whole project was explained from the beginning with the different processes involved in the extension and refurbishment of the existing building. The staff and students were asking questions during the tour and it gave them a great insight of the project and the tasks involved.

The students are currently working on a project unit as part of their programme so the site visit gave them all a better understanding of the tasks and sequences involved in a project like this and also to find out about problems that may occur on site and how these can be resolved to meet the client’s and the builder’s requirements.

The project also relates to the conversion unit the students cover so the refurbishment was ideal for them to see and learn more about.