Outer Hebrides Campus Redevelopment Opening
State of the art training facilities to support green skills demands in the Outer Hebrides opened in Stornoway
The new, state-of-the-art Technology and Innovation Centre at UHI North, West and Hebrides’ Stornoway campus officially opened today following a £2.3 million investment.
It is the first capital project to be delivered under the Islands Growth Deal, a ten-year package that seeks to drive economic growth and the creation of sustainable jobs across Shetland, Orkney and the Outer Hebrides.
Completed on time and on budget, the project has received funding from the Scottish Government through the Islands Growth Deal (£1.5 million) and the Islands Programme Fund (£250,000), Highlands and Islands Enterprise (£250,000), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (£236,000), and UHI (£102,000).
It includes modern training facilities for engineering students and apprentices including virtual welding simulators, a Future Energy Lab supporting research in renewable energy technologies, and a Newton Room which will provide primary and secondary school pupils with hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. Social spaces for students on campus have also been improved.
The investment will allow UHI North, West and Hebrides to support the Just Transition to Net Zero and the skilled workforce needed by employers, developers and major investors in the renewable energy sector throughout Scotland.
Across the curriculum, the college offers a range of qualifications available to study on campus, in work, and online, to support a talent pipeline for the renewable energy sector.
It is working with 26 employers in the Outer Hebrides to deliver Modern Apprenticeships to around 90 apprentices across carpentry and joinery, electrical engineering, and fabrication and welding, including 27 employed by Navantia UK, operators of the Arnish Yard.
The modernised facility will give UHI North, West and Hebrides capacity to increase the number of learners on campus and expand its curriculum in areas like renewable energy, engineering, construction and the built environment, sustainability and net zero.
Technology Innovation Centre