£14m purpose-built training campus planned for Thornaby

NETA Training has announced ambitious plans for a new £14m state-of-the-art centre in Thornaby.

This development is part of the Thornaby Town Deal and aims to boost the provision of engineering and construction training for both young people and adults within the borough. The new facility will be located on the Stockton Riverside College campus, with construction expected to start towards the end of summer.

"After many months in the pipeline we are excited to be bringing the brand-new NETA Training site to Thornaby," said Phil Hastie, the chief operating officer of the Education Training Collective. "NETA has a long history of meeting the skills needs of employers in our region and beyond, this development will now bring together NETA's industrial heritage with fantastic new facilities."

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The project is as a result of a £4.5m contribution from the Government's Town Deal fund and is being carried out in collaboration with Stockton Council and with backing from the Thornaby Town Deal Board. Additional financial support has come from the Department for Education, along with investments from the Education Training Collective (Etc. ).

Entry to the site will be off Princeton Drive, where learners can access training services including commercial courses, testing and certification, school-leaver engineering programmes and apprenticeship training. The 5,000 square metre premises will feature specialised industry workplaces designed for the imparting of engineering skills including welding, electrical, mechanical, pipefitting, and rigging and lifting.

Investment in the company will see cutting-edge industry-standard equipment sharing space with traditional heavy-duty machinery, reinforcing NETA's unique character and charm. Phil said: "A new building for NETA has been on our wish list for a number of years, it is incredible, thanks to the Thornaby Town Deal, to finally be able to make this happen."

Working alongside employers, local and combined authorities, the Etc , a consortium of Teesside colleges and training providers such as Stockton Riverside College and NETA Training, have been making continuous improvements. These efforts aim to broaden opportunities and develop superior learning facilities.

Alongside this, construction of a new building in Thornaby will progress alongside the development of the NETA-led All Access Academy at Redcar and Cleveland College, announced last March. The Academy aims to provide training in aspects like scaffolding, rope access and rigging and lifting.

Sean Johnston, director of NETA, said: "We can't wait to see both our new centre in Thornaby and the All Access Academy in Redcar up and running. Engineering and construction skills have a massive part to play in Teesside's industrial future. We want to help create a workforce on our doorstep with the knowledge, talent and abilities to ensure our communities benefit from that."

The relocation of NETA is one of the priority interventions that are set to bring long-term change and investment into Thornaby as part of its town deal. The interventions were identified by the Thornaby Town Deal Board, a group of local stakeholders who support the town investment plan, made up of key public and private sector bodies.

Mark White CBE DL, chair of Thornaby Town Deal Board and chair of Stockton Strategic Education Board, said: "Bringing a campus of such scale and significance to Stockton Riverside College is testament to the quality of ambition for the interventions and the hard work of the Town Deal Board."

Iain Robinson, assistant director for town centres development at Stockton Council, added: "The plans for a new NETA Training facility, as well as our ambition to create the nationally significant Tees Valley Care and Health Innovation Zone, will help to breathe new life into Teesdale Business Park and bring a host of wider benefits for the borough."

Stockton North MP Matt Vickers said: “I’m proud to have helped secure the funding for the Thornaby’s town deal. This huge government investment will be life-changing for many people across Thornaby and Stockton, future-proofing our economy and expanding our employment horizon."

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