Thousands of Norfolk youngsters could get the skills to boost the region's energy and engineering industries after the county launched a bold bid to set up one of the UK's first university technical colleges (UTCs).

 

City College Norwich (CCN) and the University of East Anglia (UEA) have joined forces to put forward the plan - with backing from a host of local and national industrial giants.

 

The UTC for 14-19-year-olds could be set up in Norwich, giving talented youngsters from across the county a headstart in the industries and bringing a "huge" boost to the local economy.

 

Up to 600 teenagers at any one time would study a mixture of academic and vocational qualifications during normal office hours to fill a gap in the skills market.

 

The bid is still at an early stage, but it received a big boost a few days ago when Lord Baker - the former Conservative cabinet minister behind a plan to develop up to 40 UTCs across England - mentioned the Norwich plan in a keynote speech.

 

The former education secretary, who chairs the Baker Dearing Educational Trust and Edge Foundation, is spearheading the drive to develop a high-status route for developing technical and craft skills - an area he said had been "killed by snobbery" in the past when technical schools died out.

 

The proposal - which would be established on similar terms as academy schools - has already attracted supported from big-hitting local and national companies, including:

 

Norwich-based offshore engineering firm Aquaterra Energy

Gardline Group

Schneider Electric UK

Scottish Renewables

RWE Npower

East of England Energy Group (EEEGR)

Hethel Engineering Centre

The National Engineering Foundation

The National Skills Academy in Manufacturing.

 

CCN principal Dick Palmer said: "This would not be geographically based. It would be in Norwich, but would serve all of Norfolk.

 

"We have learnt through subjects like hairdressing and catering at the college that students work best when we give them the skills but allow them to work in the environment where they will eventually be employed.

 

"We would like to locate this in an environment where they can learn energy skills and advanced manufacturing and engineering. We are looking at establishing the college in a light industrial unit."

 

He said "two or three locations" had been looked at, but he was not able to say where it would be yet, with everything depending on whether the government said "yes".

 

John Best, chief executive of EEEGR, said: "We have the assets here, including gas reservoirs, windfarms, and agricultural land for bio-energy.

 

"This is about ensuring we have the local people able to work in these areas. The UTC should be coming here because it's the right place for it to be."

 

Mr Palmer added: "One of the key things is making sure the curriculum is what employers in the patch are looking for, which is why they would play a part in drawing it up.

 

"A lot of businesses say they can't get the right people with the right qualifications, so we can work with them to develop those qualifications.

 

"We want it to become a centre of excellence for the two areas. We think it would be huge for the Norfolk economy and would attract businesses to the area.

 

"Energy and engineering/manufacturing have been identified by Shaping Norfolk's Future as the key areas to develop. The employer response that we've had has been fantastic, and demonstrates how important this is."

 

Lord Baker said: "This is an idea whose time has come. We're desperately short of technicians. If we want to have nuclear power stations, fast broadband across the country and high-speed trains, we haven't got the technicians to do it. We've got to train the technicians."