At the end of November we were pleased to invite local construction businesses to our University Centre Maidstone campus to discuss proposals regarding decarbonising construction.
The breakfast event outlined the Government's research into the immediate support required to launch and sustain decarbonsation in construction, and the College's plan to use the Strategic Development Fund (SDF) to respond to those needs. With the funding already secured it's incredibly important that the College works in partnership with the construction sector to deliver a project that will benefit businesses as they work towards decarbonisation targets, so the opportunity to test our ideas and get feedback on the proposed direction of the project was invaluable.
With positive feedback from our guests, we will now progress three streams of work related to the project:
1) The creation of a Sustainable Home Heating Centre to accelerate the College's capacity to deliver new courses on the installation of Heat Source Pumps, including training to access Government home heating grants to support the race to Net Zero Carbon.
2) A 'Green Skills' Trade to Teaching Programme that will develop the capacity to deliver new green skills provision in construction and meet current and future skills needs to drive decarbonisation in construction.
3) The creation of a Zero Carbon Construction Skills Factory from recycled modular building stock, employing retrofitting technology to showcase and deliver a national/regional centre of excellence in sustainable construction technologies.
Further information about the project will be available through the College website in early 2022.
