Cathall Road scheme in Waltham Forest will benefit from government skills and employment push

The Learning and Skills Council is approving £10m of funding for training centres, including the Cathall Road facility in Waltham Forest, which will be run by the National Skills Academy.

Kevin Brennan, skills minister, said “The opportunities these centres offer will not only benefit learners in the long-term but will help address unemployment and provide the skills needed to work on major engineering and construction projects.”

The training centre is ideally located to deliver training for 5,000 residents in some of London’s most deprived areas, in projects such as Thameslink, Heathrow East, Crossrail and the 2012 Olympic site, which could offer up to 20,000 places. Geoff Russell, chief executive of the Learning and Kills Council said this, “will add significant momentum to the government’s New Industry, New Jobs initiative.”

A second centre in Flybe, Exeter, will work in partnership with the government, providing similar opportunities through apprenticeships in the airline and construction industry for the South-west region.