£2m green technology centre opens

Fri 21 September 2012, 11:29 am

Barking & Dagenham College has opened a £2 million Green Technologies Centre that will train students to make the most of opportunities in the sustainable-industries sector.

Courses start this month at the centre, on the college's main Rush Green campus, focusing on environmental issues and sustainability. They include training in fitting and maintaining solar thermal and photo-voltaic cells, and air- and groundsource heat pumps, plus rain and grey-water harvesting.

The college will also run an HND course in automotive engineering, with a bias towards hybrid and electric technologies. It has a BREEAM rating of 'excellent', and uses a combined heat and power system.

The centre's launch comes as the college opens a five-storey, state-of-the-art technical skills academy in Barking town centre. Designed by Rick Mather Architects, it was one of the projects that saw the practice win a recent 'education architect of the year' award and represents a key part of the regeneration of Barking town centre.

It offers training in a variety of subjects including sustainable construction, hair and beauty, e-commerce, IT, media and interactive media, and catering and professional cookery.

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