Spring into Employment with Bishop Auckland College

Health and social care is one of the key employment sectors in the local area and with the investment in the regeneration of the town centre, tourism and hospitality are also set to become large employment sectors. Skills development in these areas is at the centre of the project with a cross cutting theme of digital skill development.

The project will be delivered from two locations:

Health and social care

The health and social care element of the project is being delivered at Bishop Auckland College where the project will contribute to the installation of a new nursing suite, comprising a hospital ward and flat to simulate a domestic care situation. This element of the project will be complete by autumn 2023. This will allow students to train in a simulated environment prior to commencing work placement. The College has also invested in sophisticated programmable manikins for use in the ‘ward’ so that students can learn how to take blood pressure, insert IV lines, listen for abnormal breathing etc. The NHS use the same resources for training nurses in hospitals. These facilities will also be used to provide training direct to employers in the sector, working together to result in dual professionalism in care and training.

McIntyres

The College has been fortunate in securing one of the most iconic and recognisable buildings in Bishop Auckland for the main elements of the project. McIntyres is a grade II listed building on Newgate Street with a long history of retail and making and selling footwear. The building is on three floors and each of the floors will play a significant and individual part in the delivery of the project, whilst working together as a cohesive whole to become economically sustainable beyond the life of the project funding.

Planning permission has been approved to convert the ground floor into a training kitchen and restaurant. A chef lecturer will train students to work in a commercial kitchen environment; the food offer will be sufficiently broad that students develop skills that enable them to work in a wide variety of kitchen environments from coffee shop to fine dining. Training for front of house is equally important and students will hone their food service skills with McIntyres eventually offering an evening restaurant service as well as the day time offer.

The second floor will be home to the two open access digital suites which local people will be able to use. More formal training in digital skills will also be offered in the building, with a trainer located on site to both support open access and to deliver training courses. The job matching service will be located on the second floor and the two advisors will work with businesses and individuals, to match vacancies and local people looking for employment.

The third floor will house three office spaces which will be available to new businesses to rent. They will have access to the digital support in the building to help navigate some of the early challenges new businesses face. It is anticipated that new businesses will rent the spaces for between six months and a year before moving to larger premises.

McIntyres exterior

McIntyres has been empty for a number of years and the exterior has fallen somewhat into disrepair; the College has been fortunate in accessing funding from Historic England to restore the exterior of the building to its original glory. The College recognised the historic significance of the building and committed early in the project to retain the name of ‘McIntyres’ as the brand for the project.

The project is expected to open Summer 2024