Construction has officially begun on the new Green Skills Academy at the College of West Anglia’s (CWA) Wisbech campus. The facility will provide hands-on training for careers in sustainability, helping meet the growing demand for green skills in the region. 

The project is backed by £2 million from Anglian Water and its alliance partners, alongside £2 million from the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority’s Recycled Local Growth fund. CWA has also contributed £200,000. The Academy is expected to open in September.

Following the successful launch of the Green Skills Centre at CWA’s King’s Lynn campus last month, this latest investment will expand training opportunities in renewable energy, water efficiency and environmental technologies. The new facility will be built with sustainability in mind, featuring solar panels and heating via air source pumps.  

CWA Principal, David Pomfret, said, "Having recently opened a smaller Green Skills Centre at our King's Lynn Campus, this £4m centre really shows our commitment to meeting the carbon net zero needs of our region.  With a major focus on renewable energies training, this centre itself will feature an air source heat pump, and solar photovoltaics / battery storage, all of which will support the teaching and learning within the academy."

"I am extremely grateful to the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority and Anglian Water and it's alliance partners , who are investing £2m each in the centre.  It's rare to have such direct private sector investment in further education college facilities, and we will be working closely with the alliance to help shape the curriculum in response to current and future green skills needs."

Darren King, Managing Director of Lindum Peterborough, said, “It is fantastic news that the construction of this exciting new facility for the College of West Anglia has begun. Demand for ‘green’ skills training is already high in the local area as businesses move towards net zero carbon. The building will offer local people greater opportunities to access high quality training in net zero skills for many years to come. Lindum has had a strong business partnership with CWA for more than 15 years, and it is great to be delivering another project for CWA in line with the client’s vision.”