Nearly 100 people gathered on the King’s Cross (KXC) site today to mark the opening of the Construction Skills Centre on York Way.
Deputy Mayor, Richard Barnes, and Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, Lord Tony Young, were joined by councillors from Camden Council and Robert Evans from the King’s Cross project, to officially welcome young people from the local area as they start their training in trades including carpentry and brick-laying.
The new Construction Skills Centre, one of the largest in the UK, will offer 150 construction apprenticeships annually to young people from Camden and Islington, in addition to other training programmes. King’s Cross has been awarded National Skills Academy for Construction status, and now with this new centre, the development is positioned as a centre for excellence providing work-based learning.
Speaking at the opening event, Robert Evans, Director, Argent (King’s Cross) Ltd, said:
“We are creating an exciting new part of London at King’s Cross and this new centre will make a vital contribution to both the training of Londoners in construction skills and delivering significant local regeneration benefits. Our objective was, and is, to provide the best possible construction training environment.
“The partners of KXC – Argent, London & Continental Railways and DHL Supply Chain – want to attract local people to this industry, project a positive image of construction skills and ultimately ensure we have highly trained people working on this exciting regeneration project. This new centre helps us achieve this.”