Furness Training South Cumbria's Largest Training Provider

Barrow in Furness born and bred, the University of Cumbria's Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Strike, returned to his home town to see the progress of the Furness College new build - an exciting new development for the Barrow area of which the university is part.
Peter was joined by his colleague Professor Liz Beaty and University Board Director Brian Hetherington, also from Barrow, on a visit to the facility on Thursday 10 November 2011 at 10.30am

This growing partnership between Furness College and the University of Cumbria is an important one for the area and both institutions are committed to raising the aspirations of learners and supporting the development of the economic and social environment in Cumbria through further and higher education.

The Furness College new build will see further and higher education partners coming together in an iconic new centre of learning and training excellence for the area. Furness College is developing the major £45m centre and the University of Cumbria is delighted to be their primary educational partner in this development. The collaboration was underpinned by a £3.5m investment from the North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and will play a major part in delivering the qualifications needed to match the skills needs of the subregion, and demands of local employers and learners
This new development will see the partnership working to create a real focal point for education, learning and industry training for the future.
Professor Peter Strike said: "I really enjoyed re-visiting my home town.  I grew up and studied in Barrow and therefore find it most rewarding to see the changes that have been made over the years and in particular this fantastic new development which brings together Furness College and the University of Cumbria in a creative and important partnership.  This partnership will provide a gateway into the University of Cumbria in Barrow providing specialist resources for specific academic programmes and access to university services for students, staff and the local community. This development will see £multi-million spending on infrastructure and facilities, creating a real investment for this part of the county.”
Anne Attwood, Principal and Chief Executive of Furness College said of the visit “We are delighted to welcome the University of Cumbria onto the new campus as partners.

When the college set out to build a new hub for learning in Furness in 2003, we already knew that Higher Education would play an important and growing part of the college’s future. Eight years later, HE accounts for 15% of the college’s work and is growing all the time. The University of Cumbria is part of that growth and we are looking forward to building an even stronger relationship once the new campus is open.

Furness College has worked hard to achieve a close relationship with the University since before its formal creation in 2007 and we are delighted that the new University chose to become partners with us in the new campus.

The partnership will not only allow more provision, the new build will allow all Furness students to study in surroundings conducive to learning. The new facilities and new resources offer spacious workshops and classrooms with a large area on the top floor dedicated to HE students and with resources for personal study.

This year, the Foundation degree in Management, validated by the University of Cumbria, has over 50 students and this is an excellent starting point for future developments.”
The University of Cumbria has university gateways elsewhere in the county - Ambleside, Workington, London and Penrith to ensure education and learning is available to all. Like in other areas, the Furness new build will enable the university to create an education and training gateway of real value, for students and for employers and industries based in Barrow.