Sep 16 2019
Gusto Homes has officially launched a new training facility at Lincoln College that will teach cutting-edge sustainable and low carbon building techniques to aspiring construction students.
Lincoln College - Construction College and ECOnstruction launch
Led by local construction firms, The Construction College, which features the Gusto Homes ECOnstruction Centre of Excellence, was officially opened on Thursday 12th September by Gusto Homes CEO Steff Wright and Chairman of Lincolnshire County Council Cllr Colin Bridges.
This new employer-led approach to construction training will help students, staff and the wider industry to upskill as gas is phased out from new sites completely over the next decade.
Thanks to this expansion, Lincoln College will now be able to train an additional 100 learners a year.
Steff Wright, CEO of Gusto Homes, said: “This is a real opportunity to work with the college to develop the skills of local people during an exciting time of change within the housebuilding and wider construction industry. It’s also a space where companies developing innovative new construction products can showcase them to people within the industry.
“Building regulation changes are inevitable if we’re to meet challenging government targets and there will be a need for the whole industry to upskill and develop.”
Gusto Homes has been a leader in sustainable construction for more than two decades. It installed the UK’s first integrated solar roof back in 1999 and has since built more than 300 new sustainable homes across the East Midlands.
Its latest developments at Woodlands Edge near Lincoln and Collingham Brook in Nottinghamshire feature fully electric passive solar homes which cost less than £1 a day to run.
Through the ECOnstruction Centre of Excellence, Gusto Homes will provide training on the application and impact of products like air source and ground source heat pumps, solar PV, triple glazing and waste water heat recovery.
Lincoln College also aims to buy properties, which students will renovate alongside local firms to aid the regeneration of local areas.
Lincoln College is calling on more firms to establish a commercial presence on its campus to train students, upskill staff and run professional development workshops for the industry as a whole.
Cllr Bridges said: “The college has demonstrated an extraordinary level of responsiveness to emerging trends in the sector and the demand for skilled workers.
“I would urge more local construction firms to engage with the college to help it achieve its vision.”
More than 20 local firms joined the opening and pledged their support to help develop the college over the next three years.
Lincoln College Group CEO Gary Headland said: “Our focus will be on continuing to listen to employers to ensure we produce highly skilled and productive people to add economic and social value in the local area.
“We are developing a really exciting student experience that will see them spending a significant amount of time in industry so they can start adding value to local firms from day-one of their apprenticeships.”