The Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology (IoT) has hit a construction milestone with the building reaching its highest point.
A ‘topping out’ ceremony was held at the £22.5m state-of-the-art institution – one of just 21 in the country – to mark the structural completion of the scheme.
The three-storey, 4000 square metre building, which sits on land off Castle Street, in the heart of the Stafford Station Gateway project, is set to open to learners in September 2025.
Representatives from the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire IoT and Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) welcomed Adam Jogee, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, representatives from Stafford Borough Council, the Department for Education, the Gatsby Foundation, education partners Stoke-on-Trent College, Keele University and Axia Solutions, employer partners Hitachi, Indurent and Siemens and construction partners Ellis Williams Architects, Avison Young and Speller Metcalfe to mark the occasion.
Led by NSCG, the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire IoT will provide higher-level technical education in areas including modern methods of construction, advanced engineering, high value manufacturing, digital and health/life sciences.
When complete. the building will be packed with industry standard equipment including robotics, automation and control equipment, a product design and innovation hub, CNC machinery, 3D printers, a mock hospital ward, surveying equipment and digital suites which include a seven-metre immersive virtual reality cylinder.
Georgina Barnard, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire IoT Director, said: “We are so pleased to mark this occasion with our anchor partners and key stakeholders. It has been great to see the Institute of Technology building rise from the ground and take shape over the last few months.
“We are delighted that we will soon be able to offer a much broader range of higher technical courses to address our current and future skills needs.
“This will inspire more people in the surrounding area to develop the higher-level technical skills needed to access sustainable, well paid careers.
“We look forward to seeing the building buzzing with students, staff and members of the community when it opens next year.”
Adam Jogee, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyme, added: “As the Member of Parliament for Newcastle-under-Lyme, I am proud to have the Ofsted Outstanding Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group headquarters based in the heart of my constituency.
“NSCG led the bid to bring the Institute of Technology to Staffordshire and I was delighted to attend the topping-out ceremony and see the first-hand the brilliant progress being made on the construction of this innovative new facility.
“I’m genuinely excited to see the positive impact the Institute of Technology will have on our region in the years to come.”
