Derby College (www.derby-college.ac.uk) is developing plans to create an Institute of Technology for Engineering.

This comes after an allocation of £63 million in the recent Budget for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire to bolster skills, productivity and business.

The college is working on proposals for a £3 million refurbishment of its Roundhouse campus in Pride Park. If work goes ahead, the hub will create 60 apprenticeships per year in engineering, plus Level Three courses for 16- to 19-year-olds.

Derby College chief executive Mandie Stravino said: “There are currently too few people equipped with the higher-level technical skills that our economy needs.

The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership has identified the need to recruit a significant number of higher apprentices in the engineering and construction sectors to be able to undertake the local infrastructure activity that is scheduled to take place.

“Our aim is to re-fit parts of our Roundhouse campus to create a ‘state of the art facility’ that matches international standards.”