A NEW vocational skills training centre in Whitehill and Bordon will take its first students in 2017, after plans and funding were approved last week.

The building, which will be named the Future Skills Centre, will offer training to students and people aged over 16, with an initial focus on construction skills.

Approved by Hampshire County Council’s regulatory committee last Wednesday, the centre is part of wider plans to regenerate Whitehill and Bordon.

Following the decision, county councillor Adam Carew (Whitehill, Bordon and Lindford), praised the project as it would “literally help our town build itself”.

The new centre will be sited at Louisburg Barracks, in the north of the town, which is owned by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Training provided at the facility will “equip the local community with valuable skills to support and create construction jobs”.

The £4m centre will be largely funded by a grant from the Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partner-ship (LEP).

The scheme is now being taken forward by the county council, which has put £250,000 toward the costs and will manage the centre once it is finished.

“This is fantastic news for Whitehill and Bordon residents,” said Nick Drew, East Hampshire District Council’s portfolio holder for economic development.

“The Future Skills Centre will be a great help for people looking for work, especially in the construction industry.

“Students will learn about brickwork, carpentry, electrical work and plumbing, and the centre will also be used to support the district council’s successful apprenticeship programme.

“East Hampshire District Council is committed to becoming one the most business-friendly councils in the country.

“If we are to achieve that aim we must equip residents with the skills they need to take advantage of the jobs which will become available as Whitehill and Bordon is regenerated.”

Kelly Hillman, senior area manager at the Homes and Communities Agency, added: “The Future Skills Centre will give local people the tools they need to develop their own careers.

“I am delighted that Hampshire County Council has given its approval for the scheme to go ahead. This project marks a real step forward in our efforts to improve Whitehill and Bordon’s residents’ quality of life. I am looking forward to seeing the first students taking up their places in 2017.”

County council leader Roy Perry was “delighted” to be working with the district council and the Enterprise M3 LEP to create this “flagship facility” for the town.

“The new centre will help to ensure young people in the local community, and the surrounding area, have the opportunity to train and develop the skills necessary to take full advantage of the jobs that will be created by the regeneration of White-hill and Bordon,” he said.

Geoff French, chairman of the Enterprise M3 LEP, said the Future Skills Centre would play a “key role” in the regeneration as the demand for a skilled workforce grows over the coming years.

“This is a significant investment in the future of the town and it is one from which the residents themselves will benefit hugely,” he added. “In order to create a prosperous and vibrant economy you must have a skilled and dynamic workforce and this centre will help provide that.”

Mr Carew agreed that jobs, skills and training were all “essential” to the “economic prosperity of our community”.

“This iconic £4m eco-building will form a gateway to the northern end of our town and will be a centre of excellence, providing apprenticeships and training in the construction industry, as well as new eco-build technologies,” he said.

“It will literally help our town build itself as it enters a new exciting phase of construction and development and becomes a power house for regeneration.

“As we would expect from this authority, this capital investment will provide an iconic BREEAM Excellent building, built to the very highest environmental standards, totally in keeping with our town’s Green Vision and fit for the 21st Century. I cannot wait to see it open.”

The county council is investing in a network of these future skills centres to provide “world-class education and training in vocational industries”.

As well as construction training, there will also be “employability and enterprise skills” taught, including literacy, numeracy and business.