FEATURE:MANUFACTURING
Councillor Ian Bowyer (second right) laying the foundation stone at the Regional Centre of Excellence for STEM A new centre for excellence ‘Our vision for the Centre
is to enable more cross-curriculum learning’
A significant milestone has been reached in the building of Plymouth’s new Regional Centre of Excellence for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) with the laying of the foundation stone. Councillor Ian Bowyer, Leader of Plymouth City Council, laid the stone at City College’s Kings Road site. The £13 million state-of-the-art facility, funded by Plymouth City Council, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HotSW LEP) and the Regional Growth Fund, has seen more than 50 employers involved in shaping its development. The Centre will provide a flexible learning environment that simulates ‘real work’ scenarios with industry-standard workshops, laboratories and studios. It will be equipped with high-tech resources to support a broader and more relevant STEM curriculum. “The laying of the foundation stone takes the
construction of the Regional Centre of Excellence for STEM a step closer to completion,” said Phil Davies, City College Principal and Chief Executive. “STEM is a local and national priority for addressing a predicted future skills shortage in related industries;
building the centre is a direct response to that. Our commitment is to train and develop young people and adults that employers and the economy needs. “We want to stimulate interest and support for higher-
paid STEM jobs, while at the same time encourage students to remain and develop their careers in the local workforce. Our vision for the centre is to enable more cross-curriculum learning that embeds enterprise, employability and STEM into everything we do.” Work on the centre, which is being built by Kier,
started in February this year and is due to be completed in autumn 2017. The five-storey building is starting to rise upwards with formwork and reinforcement for the third floor in place. Brian Rice, Operations Director Kier Construction
Western and Wales, said: “The construction team were delighted to see the foundation stone being laid; they are immensely proud of the building and have enjoyed showing students around the site. I very much hope that seeing the project during construction has been an inspiration to the potential careers that their STEM studies can lead to.”
Manufacturers use grant for growth
Since its launch in 2010, the Regional Growth Fund has invested £2.6 billion to help local businesses grow. RGF money is available through a number of national and local organisations who have been allocated funds. Chamber member Start Point Finance have accessed RGF grants for a number of clients, including two South West manufacturers who have invested in machinery to grow their businesses. The fund is available to businesses who are investing
in equipment from £50,000 to £1 million. The main aim is to boost employment, so the purchase must either create a job or help safeguard one. If successful, the applicant is given £10,000 per job up to a maximum of 20% of the asset cost. The grant is given in the form of a deposit which may need to be topped up by the applicant (typically a
further five per cent). The balance of the cost is then financed over two to five years and even with interest, successful applicants still pay less than buying outright. The large deposit means that the funder has a secure
position and allows them to lend where an application would otherwise be borderline or too weak for their credit criteria. Following the 2015 spending review, no future
rounds of RGF are proposed so the fund is expected to be used up early in 2017. So if you are planning a large asset purchase, which will either create or safeguard a job in the South West, there is little time to waste. Start Point Finance are authorised and regulated by
the Financial Conduct Authority. Find out more at
www.startpointfinance.co.uk
Start Point Finance have accessed grants for a number of clients
November/December 2016 Chamber Profile 21
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