[28
OCT 99] COVENTRY CITY COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE
Two New Learning HQs for CoventryCoventry City Council welcomes the news that Coventry has been chosen to
house the new headquarters of the National Learning and Skills Council and the new Adult Learning Inspectorate.
The Learning and Skills Council will take over from the Further Education Funding
Council, (and will be based in the old FEFC headquarters in Quinton Road), but will have a
wider remit. It is possible that the new organisation will bring 200 new jobs to the city.
Councillor Bob Waugh, Chair of the Economic Affairs Co-ordinating Committee said:
"I’m delighted with today’s news that
Coventry is to be the home of the new headquarters for the Learning and Skills Council and
the new Adult Learning Inspectorate. It further confirms my belief that Coventry is an
ideal investment location for Government headquarters functions.
This prestigious project will join an
ever-growing list of top name companies choosing to locate here.
A number of new jobs will be created,
which is obviously very good news and I want to emphasise that we will do all we can to
welcome anyone that moves from Sheffield as a result of the Learning and Skills Council
choosing to set up in Coventry."
NOTES:
- The Further Education Funding Council (FEFC)
located in Coventry in 1993. They currently employ 250 people in a prestigious 46,000 sq
ft office and have invested £10 million in an IT network.
- The Learning and Skills Council and the new
Adult Learning Inspectorate will assume responsibility for Further Education in April
2001. The new proposals bring together current FEFC inspectorate responsibilities with the
Training Standards Council and Ofsted inspection functions for adult and post-16 education
in a single inspectorate – with responsibility for post-16 education and training.
- The Department for Education and Employment
appointed consultants 'Capita' to look at locations which could:
- Accommodate 500 – 800 people in high quality office space
- Provide excellent transport facilities and links to the motorway network
- Access people with a broad range of skills to ensure a responsive and efficient post 16
education and training facility.
- The consultants worked closely with the City
Council’s Coventry Centre for Investment (CCFI). They considered the merits of
Coventry, Sheffield, London, a split between Coventry and Sheffield and a single site in a
new, low-cost location. CCFI provided a proposal outlining why Coventry was the ideal
location for the headquarters function of the Learning and Skills Council.
MORE INFORMATION:
Martin Bullock, Deputy Director, City Development 01203 832620
Paula Deas, Head of Inward Investment 01203 831391
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