WIRRAL Metropolitan College has unveiled plans for a new campus at the heart of the multi-billion pound Wirral Waters' development.

Developed in partnership with The Peel Group, its Built Environment, Skills and Enterprise Centre will provide skills and knowledge to support the 20,000 new jobs that the regeneration scheme is set to create.

Peel's £4.6bn Wirral Waters project aims to provide office and workshop accommodation to a broad range of commercial sectors in the under-used Birkenhead Docks.

Principal Sue Higginson said “We are delighted that in our 160th year of supporting our local community, our College is now set to play a key role in the ambitious plans for the regeneration of Wirral to support generations for the next 160 years.

"With support from the Skills Funding Agency and a strong partnership with Peel, our new campus will launch the development of Wirral Waters.

"Because we are at the heart of this transformational project, we will be directly supporting employers by providing the skills and knowledge required to support the 20,000 new jobs that Wirral Waters is set to realise."

The college is also relocating its Employer Services facility, which already supports over 1,000 employers, to support employers that will invest in the largest regeneration project in the UK and one of the first Enterprise Zones created in the UK.

John Whittaker, chairman of The Peel Group, said: "Wirral Waters is not only an important project for Peel, it is an important scheme for the City Region, for Peel’s Ocean Gateway and for future generations to come. Peel recognises the importance of infrastructure.

"It's this investment into our ports, our transport systems and energy provision – that really underpins ‘growth’ projects such as Wirral Waters – and I put skills & training into the same category.

"Investing in our young, talented people and giving them the opportunity to develop the skills that businesses actually need is vital in helping us to grow and diversify the economy.

"That's why we’re delighted to be developing a new college campus for Wirral Met College, which sits right at the heart of Wirral Waters".

Wirral West MP and minister of State for Employment, Esther McVey, said: "I was delighted to support this bid and this Government funding demonstrates its commitment to Wirral and the wider Merseyside communities.

"Wirral Met College plays a huge role in our further education system and this new college campus will enhance further all the great work that it does in getting local people trained in many different skill sets in order to help them gain employment."