INSPIRING plans for a £14m college in Beverley will provide a major boost for the town, according to the Skills Minister.
Minister Matthew Hancock was briefed on the project when he visited East Riding College's Gallows Lane campus in Beverley yesterday.
The college is looking to relocate to the town's Flemingate regeneration site from September next year.
Mr Hancock said: "My department has provided £2m of the funds and the rest has been funded locally. It's real teamwork between the department in London and the college locally.
"I think it will be fantastic.
"I understand planning is expected in the next couple of weeks. It has to be signed off locally in terms of what it will look like.
"It is really important we have 21st-century facilities for 21st- century delivery. You can't deliver the skills employers need unless you have the kit that employers use."
Mr Hancock believes the new campus will be an important boost for the town.
He said: "It's an impressive college. It's inspiring for the town, too. It helps ensure going to college and getting the skills you need is held in high regard.
"Good jobs come from highly skilled people and having a state-of-the-art college will help deliver that."
The Skills Minister said the £120m Flemingate regeneration development in Beverley, which includes plans for shops, offices, homes and leisure developments, is vitally important for the town.
He said: "It's a big project for the town. It is not often that towns Beverley's size get this sort of funding."
The minister was given a tour of East Riding College, accompanied by Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart.
The MPs saw students learning skills in motor vehicle maintenance, construction, hairdressing and beauty therapy, and hospitality and catering.
East Riding College principal Derek Branton said: "The visit provided an excellent opportunity to raise with a government minister some of the issues facing further education colleges brought about by recent funding and policy changes.
"We were also able to discuss with Mr Hancock our planned move from the Gallows Lane campus to the Flemingate development in Beverley.
"I was delighted to be able to show him so many of our students hard at work and to give him a tour of the high-quality learning environments we have at East Riding College."
The college enrolls 1,600 full- time further education students each year, with thousands more taking part-time further education and higher education courses, as well as apprenticeships.
The minister was also visiting the Employment and Skills Centre in Beverley to see the new National Careers Service provision.
The service was launched last year to provide advice on learning and careers, with a focus on what skills are needed locally.
The minister also visited the Humberside Engineering Training Association (Heta) in Hull.
Heta has been providing a service to the engineering and process industries since 1967, predominantly to companies around the Humber.
Services include apprenticeship recruitment for employers and off-the-job training.
