Rishi Sunak was greeted by students at Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC) and was showcased Robotics, Engineering and Cyber specialisms taught at the school.
It was the first visit to a UTC by a sitting Prime Minister for 14 years. The PM was greeted by Lord Kenneth Baker, who’s idea established the UTC specialist centres nationally; and the visit was hosted by the local MP Siobhan Baillie, who has been a constant supporter of Education and Skills in the area.
Gareth Lister, Headteacher at the UTC said: “Our students really excel in their specialisms – all of which are needed to meet the engineering and cyber challenges locally and nationally. The Prime Minister was especially interested in discussing engineering with our female students, traditionally under-represented in the sector.”.
Kevin Hamblin, CEO of SGS College and the UTC added: “This has been a really important week for the County, the Berkeley Site and the role of the UTC – culminating in the PM taking an interest in what’s happening here.”
The announcement in the budget securing Oldbury for a Small Modular Reactor was warmly welcomed and it will lead to the creation of thousands of jobs, many of them in engineering and digital specialisms.
Chiltern Vital Group (CVG), will soon take over the development of the Berkeley site and have a vision for an Oldbury/Berkeley Clean Energy Axis in partnership with Rolls Royce SMR.
CVG have announced this week that they have signed a collaboration agreement with Polish firm SGP Industria who have operate the Central Hydrogen Valley in Poland and are planning to purchase up to 10 SMR’s from Rolls Royce – and will train their staff at Berkeley.
These developments will complement the University of Bristol’s interest in establishing a Centre of Excellence in Nuclear on site.
It is clear that the UTC will play a central role at Berkeley as it becomes the primary training facility for new-nuclear and clean energy production across the UK, and internationally.’
