NETA Training shares plans for new £14m facility in Thornaby

NETA Training has unveiled plans for a £14m purpose-built centre in Thornaby on Teesside.

The development is part of the Thornaby Town Deal and aims to enhance the delivery of engineering and construction training within the borough for young people and adults.

The new building will be situated on Stockton Riverside College’s site, with work expected to start late in the summer.  

The project has been made possible with £4.5m from the Government’s Town Deal fund and is being delivered in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and with the support of the Thornaby Town Deal Board.

Further funding has been secured from the Department for Education and investment from the Education Training Collective (Etc.) – a group of colleges and training providers which includes NETA Training and Stockton Riverside College.  

NETA Training will have its own access point off Princeton Drive and continue to deliver its full range of training services, including commercial courses, testing and certification, apprenticeship training and full-time engineering programmes for school-leavers.  

The 5,000sq m facility will comprise bespoke industry workshops for the delivery of engineering skills, including welding, electrical, mechanical, pipefitting and rigging and lifting.

Investment will see some of the latest high spec industry-standard equipment sitting alongside traditional heavy-duty machinery.

“After many months in the pipeline we are excited to be bringing the brand-new NETA Training site to Thornaby,” said the Education Training Collective’s chief operating officer Phil Hastie. 

“NETA has a long history of meeting the skills needs of employers in our region and beyond, this development will now bring together NETA’s industrial heritage with fantastic new facilities.”

He added: “A new building for NETA has been on our wish list for a number of years, it is incredible, thanks to the Thornaby Town Deal, to finally be able to make this happen.”

Working with employers, the local and combined authorities, this is the latest in a series of improvement projects delivered by the Etc.

Development of the new building in Thornaby will run alongside the creation of the NETA-led All Access Academy at Redcar and Cleveland College, announced in March, delivering training in the likes of scaffolding, rope access and rigging and lifting. 

NETA director Sean Johnston said: “Engineering and construction skills have a massive part to play in Teesside’s industrial future.  

“We want to help create a workforce on our doorstep with the knowledge, talent and abilities to ensure our communities benefit from that.”

The relocation of NETA is one of the priority interventions that are set to bring long-term change and investment into Thornaby as part of its town deal.  

The interventions were identified by the Thornaby Town Deal Board, a group of local stakeholders who support the town investment plan, made up of key public and private sector bodies.