A NEW £4.48 million building was officially opened at Cirencester College on Friday.

The Gloucestershire Digital Skills Centre has been funded through the Government’s Getting Building Fund programme through GFirst LEP and was part of a total of £11.3 million bid split between five different projects within the county.

The building was officially opened by Brigadier (Retired) Sara Sharkey CBE, BSc, MSc, CEng, MIET, who served for 30 years in the British Army before joining Deloitte as a director in the Digital Defence practice in 2021.

College principal Jim Grant was joined by dignitaries to mark the opening of the building, that will house cutting-edge technology and resources to support the cyber and digital sectors.

Jim said: “We are extremely proud of this new facility, this is a really important building for us as a college.

"It is part of the challenge to reintroduce digital skills post 16 after many drop IT related studies in schools.

"Today, digital skills are a major part of all of our lives, at home and in work, and it is our plan to develop these skills in all of our learners not just those who study IT related courses."

David Owen CEO of GFirst said “We at GFirst LEP are really pleased to have funded and now see the opening of the Digital Skills Centre at Cirencester College.

"We know that digital and cyber will be key drivers in our Gloucestershire economy and this centre is a brilliant opportunity to help train the next talent pool we need to grow this sector.”

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Sam Carter, managing director at builders E G Carter & Co Ltd, said: "We were thrilled to be appointed on the Cirencester College Digital Building project and since our appointment have thoroughly enjoyed working with the project team to deliver the scheme.

"It has been a brilliant project to be involved with and the collaborative approach taken by all has ensured the best possible building has been constructed for the college."

John Mooney, senior architect at Roberts Limbrick who designed the building, said: "We are excited to see the Digital Skills Centre open, a major asset for the county.

"It's a brilliant resource for students, providing them with cutting-edge digital technology in a flexible, collaborative environment.

"Gloucestershire is the cyber capital of the UK and these skills are more valuable than ever."