A state-of-the-art construction hub at Cambridge Regional College in Huntingdon will tackle “high levels of skills shortages” by training 180 people a year.

The hub is set to be complete next month and will support skills in construction, electrical, brickwork and carpentry.

The build, funded by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, will also aim to train those who will go on to work on new housing developments across the region.

Cambs Times: The construction hub at Cambridge Regional College in Huntingdon will tackle “high levels of skills shortages” by training 180 people a year. Here's how it will look once complete.The construction hub at Cambridge Regional College in Huntingdon will tackle “high levels of skills shortages” by training 180 people a year. Here's how it will look once complete. (Image: CRC)

Mayor of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Dr Nik Johnson, said, “Construction is a big industry for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, employing a lot of people.

“But the potential for this sector is so much greater, with firms finding it a real struggle to find enough people with the right skills.

“This construction hub will help young people as well as adults looking to upskill to find great careers offering good pay, and where demand is high.

“As mayor I’m also tasked with accelerating and unlocking the delivery of new housing, and I want as many of those homes as possible to be built by local firms, employing locally trained, highly skilled people.”

The hub will see a further 180 people trained each year, including school leavers, adults, and apprentices. Nine direct employment opportunities at the college will also be created.

Students will be trained in new workshops in everything from fitting kitchens and stairs to roofing and joisting, studwork and door hanging.

Principal Mark Robertson said: “We are delighted that the new training facilities at our Huntingdon campus will provide industry standard training for many more people to develop the skills they need for good jobs in the construction industry.

“With the construction sector booming in the region, this is the perfect time for students to gain the skills that will give them great employment opportunities.”

Data suggests there is currently a shortage of 15,000 skilled people in the Eastern region - and 47 per cent of all vacancies in the construction industry remain unfilled.

Over the next decade, 100,000 new homes are set to be built, including major transport development projects.

The development is being project managed by Fusion Project Management, with Noble House as the main contractor.