Tutors help to design new ‘tech annex’

Plastering student Hayden Bates trying out the new facilities at Hopwood Hall College with lecture Rob Wilson

Hopwood Hall College has a new ‘tech annex’.

Work on the annex to the College’s Technology Centre, which was opened in 2012, started 15 months ago and it’s now ready for its first cohort of would-be plumbers and plasterers.

In order to ensure that the new building is at the cutting edge of training in these fields, over 100 professionals, including college tutors were involved in designing the state-of-the-art workshops.

Rob Wilson, who is a tutor and member of the National Association of Plastering Lecturers, was part of the consultation and explained: “We need more trained professionals in the industry, especially with the country’s housing needs and so Hopwood Hall College is responding to this.”

The industry standard features include such things as a teaching wall that students can watch videos on, sensors for the lights (so there’s less mess with turning on light switches etc.) and also a range of special plastering surfaces that mimic real-life situations, such as a bespoke curved area (like the bay window areas that many people have in their 1930s houses).

Alan Harrison, another tutor at the College, who also helped with its design, is delighted with the new facilities: “Each individual has their own area to work in which replicates the jobs they’re going to come across in real life. It’s an ideal learning environment.”