Construction Skills Hub expansion creates new training opportunities in Chesterfield
The Construction Skills Hub in Mastin Moor has expanded with new classrooms and funding, creating 45 additional training places to support skills development in Chesterfield’s growing construction sector.
Expanding skills provision for local people
The Construction Skills Hub, based in Mastin Moor, has strengthened its offer with the addition of two new classroom spaces, enabling a further 45 learners to access industry-focused training.
Primarily funded through the Staveley Town Deal, the expansion has been made possible thanks to additional investment from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), supporting Chesterfield’s ambition to build a highly skilled workforce for the future.
Over the next decade, the Hub is expected to support more than 5,000 learners, from school pupils exploring career options to adults looking to retrain or upskill. The facility provides hands-on training alongside careers insight and work experience opportunities, ensuring learners are prepared for real-world employment.
Supporting a growing sector
Since launching, the Hub has already supported more than 150 students across a range of trades including groundworks, bricklaying, electrical, plumbing and site joinery. In addition, degree-level apprenticeships are available in construction management, quantity surveying and civil engineering.
The hub’s employer-led approach continues to deliver strong results, with 69% of learners progressing into construction roles – significantly higher than the national average of 23% for construction-based college learners.
New classroom space will allow the introduction of adult skills courses and targeted bootcamps, helping to address skills shortages and provide pathways into employment. An additional student support cabin has also been installed to accommodate increased staffing and learner demand.
Partnership driving impact
The initiative is delivered through a partnership between Chesterfield Borough Council, Chesterfield College and the University of Derby, located at the heart of the Devonshire Group’s development site in Mastin Moor.
Councillor Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and Vice Chair of the Skills and Employment Partnership, said:
“The Construction Skills Hub is a fantastic example of how the public, education and private sectors can work together to create training opportunities for local people that will allow them to benefit from a growing local economy. This additional funding will help expand the number of students at the hub and ensure more local people can benefit from this innovative approach to training so that they gain the right skills so they can grasp the opportunities available in a growing construction sector.”
Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, added:
“Investing in skills is essential to driving growth across the East Midlands and the Construction Skills Hub shows how high-quality training can help people move into good local jobs.
“Funding support means the Hub can expand, giving more residents the chance to gain the practical, in-demand skills employers need.
“By backing initiatives like this, we’re helping people progress while building the workforce needed to deliver new homes, infrastructure and regeneration across our region”
The latest £108,000 investment from the East Midlands Combined County Authority, secured through the UKSPF, reinforces the Hub’s role in supporting regional growth, helping to deliver the workforce needed for new homes, infrastructure and regeneration projects.
Find out more about skills, training and business support in Chesterfield: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/business/business-support/
Chesterfield Borough Council, Chesterfield College, the University of Derby and Devonshire Group are all part of over 200 Chesterfield organisations that are proud to support the local economy, working closely with Destination Chesterfield to showcase Chesterfield and North Derbyshire as a destination to live, work, visit and invest.
Find out more about becoming a Chesterfield Champion and supporting local growth.
