College's engineering centre shortlisted for award

A specialised engineering and automotive training centre which opened to students last September has been shortlisted for an award.

The City of Wolverhampton College Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre is nominated in the 2025 West Midlands Constructing Excellence Awards.

Facilities at the £8.1m Wellington Road campus in Bilston include a 12-bay automotive workshop, an electric vehicle lab, and six classrooms. The college said it would serve more than 5,000 people and offer almost 1,000 apprenticeships over the first decade.

Peter Merry, deputy principal and chief executive of the college, said: "We are delighted it has been shortlisted for the Building Project of the Year."

The Bilston automotive centre, which was built in under 12 months, offers training in new electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as fabrication, manufacturing, welding, CAD and robotics.

It was funded by £7.7m from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and the remainder from the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership.

Richard Parker, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said at the centre's official opening seven months ago that it aimed to "work hand in glove with the industry" to give students the best start and also address a skills shortage in Wolverhampton.

Last month, luxury car manufacturer Bentley enrolled 18 of its manufacturing technicians in electrical apprenticeships at the centre, the city council said.

The facility is part of the council's City Learning Quarter masterplan, which will see the college relocate from its "outdated" Paget Road site to a new base situated around the Old Hall Street and St George's Parade area.

It will be the centrepiece of a £61m government-supported scheme by the council to establish new educational provision across the city and wider region and is expected to welcome students for the 2025/26 academic year.

Mr Merry said: "The Advanced Technology and Automotive Centre was designed with the requirements of students, apprentices, employers and the wider engineering and automotive sectors at its heart and enabled courses to be transferred from our Paget Road campus for the start of the academic year in September 2024.

"Students are benefitting from learning in purpose-built premises with industry-standard equipment and facilities, and, with so much construction taking place across the region, we are delighted that it has been shortlisted."

Winners will be announced at an event at Edgbaston Cricket Ground on 1 May.

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