Bradford College is preparing for the upcoming national Colleges Week 2024 (26 February – 1 March) with extensive capital investment projects already underway. In the past two years, the college has received nearly £29m, which will be used to enhance its existing facilities, refurbish, and build new ones in Bradford. These projects are an integral part of Bradford College’s estates strategy, which will create innovative learning environments to support regional economic growth and pave the way for a promising student career.
One of the projects includes a £3.5m investment from the T Level Capital Fund – Wave 5, which will create new facilities such as a commercial barbering salon, nail bar, collaborative lecture spaces, TV studio, enhanced media editing and recording studios, outdoor dining facilities, and the remodeling of The Grove training restaurant. T Level qualifications are an alternative to A Levels, aimed at teaching hands-on skills needed by employers. The latest T Level facilities will follow the £1.3m Wave 4 funding that developed T Level health and early years facilities in 2023.
The Office for Students (OfS) Higher Education Capital Fund awarded Bradford College £5.8m funding, including a £1.1m contribution from the college, to refurbish the five-storey 1900s Garden Mills building. The refurbishment work has been completed and will serve as state-of-the-art facilities for higher-level HNC/HND and degree students for health sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects from the new academic year.
The Future Technology Centre (FTC) building will undergo construction after the demolition of Junction Mills and surveys by contractor, Morgan Sindall in Spring. The FTC Centre has become possible thanks to an allocation of £15m funding from the Department for Education’s Further Education Capital Transformation Fund (FECTF), secured in October 2022, along with a £2m College contribution. The FTC will be home to the automotive and digital engineering department, specializing in electric/hybrid vehicles, robotics, advanced manufacturing, digital/3D design and will support technology and low-carbon skills capability growth within West Yorkshire.
According to Christopher Malish, Bradford College Vice Principal Finance & Corporate Services, “These multi-million-pound investments will create cutting-edge learning environments for the local community, allowing the College to deliver on its mission of transforming lives. This will ensure we are at the forefront of teaching and learning, and these new capital projects will provide outstanding spaces and innovative technologies that deliver our vision of creating a better future for all through education and training.”
Bradford College’s capital investment projects will undoubtedly provide enhanced learning environments and open multiple opportunities for students’ career development, supporting the wider city development efforts.
