Ken Webb, Principal and Chief Executive of SERC said,xa0“This marks a new chapter in technical education and will allow us to deliver our high quality learning experience in the appropriate environment. As a result of fewer university places, more unemployed people seeking qualifications, employed people wanting to up-skill and businesses seeking support to become more innovative, we expect a significant increase in demand this year.
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“We are keen to invest in the facilities and equipment to meet this need. As part of the Further Education sector our role is to help recover and grow the local economy and the provision of skills is at the heart of this. We are delighted with our new Downpatrick campus, which is as much a regional facility as a local one, and we plan on further developing our industry links to ensure that we are delivering the skills employers need now and for the future.”
“Technical education has a rich history spanning over 100 years in the East Down area. From the early 1900’s, the local community of Downpatrick, together with the surrounding rural areas have benefited from an education and training service that has stood the test of time, despite the immense political, economic and social pressures for change that have ensured its evolution from the early, modest itinerant classes scattered throughout the district to the present day, where under the guise of xa0the South Eastern Regional College, a £30 million world class learning facility has been delivered to the people of East Down.
Downpatrick man David Smith, Director of Teaching and Customer Support for SERC, was on site when one of the first bricks was laid and said,xa0“As both as a local resident and Director of SERC, I am very proud to be associated with this new campus. It is not only a world-class facility for the local community but for businesses and individuals from across Northern Ireland, and indeed we will be welcoming international students from all corners of the globe.”]]>
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