Lakes College West Cumbria 

From a superbly equipped base in West Cumbria, Lakes College specialises in providing high-quality technical and vocational programmes within Further and Higher Education, serving the needs of employers across Cumbria and the North West.

As a founder member and skills provider within the National College for Nuclear, Lakes has developed an innovative, transferrable model supporting the development of highly-skilled technicians for roles across the nuclear and low carbon energy sectors.

Focusing on the Higher Technician Class, the model integrates project-based and experiential learning methodologies within an employer-led curriculum, combined to develop highly-skilled site and role ready employees who attain excellent academic knowledge and skills development. The transferrable model enables the development of appropriate sector behaviours from the outset and throughout learning. The model continues to be deployed within the growing network of National College for Nuclear accredited providers, enabling access throughout the UK.

Lakes College is home to the National College for Nuclear Northern Hub, providing employers, learners, apprentices and staff with access to first-class, industry-standard resources to develop the skills and behaviours demanded by industry. This includes: virtual and augmented reality suites, a Digital Accelerator Hub, radiological protection and science labs, low carbon energy training equipment including solar power, wind technology, hydrogen cells and heat pump systems, a new digital manufacturing suite including computer integrated manufacturing systems and fast prototyping, and an array of sophisticated training and simulation equipment directly mirroring industry practice.