Harlow College is set to benefit from SELEP’s £30 million Getting Building Fund.

The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) has approved £30 million in funding for 14 projects in Essex, Southend and Thurrock from the Getting Building Fund (GBF), including refurbishing Harlow Library, new workspaces and markets in Harlow, Braintree and Jaywick, and a new modular housing factory in Basildon to produce up to 1,000 new homes a year.

Also included in the project is significant funding for the remodelling of T Level buildings at Harlow College.

T Levels are new technical qualifications which will follow GCSEs and will be equivalent to 3 A Levels. They take 2 years to complete and combine classroom theory, practical learning and an industry placement of at least 45 days with an employer to provide real experience of the workplace.

The Getting Building Fund investment will repurpose accommodation to a centre for delivering healthcare, health science, education and childcare, sustainable modern construction methods and digital technologies, embedding innovation in the different vocational pathways and fully preparing the College for the introduction and delivery of T Levels.

The project will also improve accommodation and teaching spaces for the Education and Childcare T Level pathway. The investment will ensure access to state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to support delivery including apprenticeships and higher technical levels.

Will Allanson, Deputy Principal of Harlow College, said: “We are delighted to have been successful in securing an additional £1.5 million of the Government’s Get Building Fund via the South East Local Enterprise Partnership. These SELEP funds will be invaluable in supporting us to deliver our strategy of ongoing campus improvements and to prepare our learning spaces for the delivery of the T Level pathways in Construction, Science and Health and Digital Skills from September 2021.”

Chair of SELEP’s Opportunity South Essex federated board, Perry Glading said:

“We are doing all we can to support the wider Essex business community, and these funding decisions will make excellent use of disused commercial buildings to specifically help SMEs affected by COVID-19, as well as support start-ups with a new entrepreneur hub.

“These projects will create new jobs and education facilities for the transport and logistics industry in the area, helping young people looking for work across the wider Thames Estuary area in this burgeoning and increasingly important sector for SELEP – particularly with the UK Transition on the horizon.”