First teens move into £20m house-building college

Flynn is among almost 500 students to take up places at the new campus

Hundreds of teenagers are taking their next steps in the building trade with the opening of a new construction and housing training campus.

The 16 to 18 year olds - almost 500 of them - have started term at the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA) in the Sheepfolds area of Sunderland.

After seven years of planning, HICSA joins nine other institutions across the country that will contribute to the government's plan to employ more than 40,000 builders aimed at fulfilling an election pledge on new homes.

Level three plumbing student Flynn said it was exciting to be among the first to study in a building that is like "a total new world".

The £20m building near the Stadium of Light has sprung up at a former goods shed that has stood for more than a century.

Plans for the campus began to be developed years ago

"It's a gateway for all things construction and housing training," said Ellen Thinnesen, chief executive of Education Partnership North East which runs Sunderland College.

She said it would teach students to work as "multi-operatives" on replica new-build homes, where there are electricians and roofers working at the same time, instead of learning to build "parts of houses".

It will also be linked to every college in the North East to help "accelerate the number of people" filling job vacancies created by the government's aim to create new homes.

Emily (R) followed the advice of her mum to "get a trade"

Electrical apprentice, Emily said it was a "much improved" environment compared to the former campus in the city.

She applied for the course after not knowing what to do post-GCSEs, but took advice from her mother.

"She said getting a trade under my belt would be one of the best things I can do... and having the trade has allowed me to step further than the college."

Emily is among a group chosen for a traineeship with housing association Gentoo.

• Listen: Jim Scott visits the campus and has a go at soldering

A replica new-build home helps students learn how to install windows and deal with interior fittings

The project is also working with companies which have opened bases within the HICSA, including Ambion Heating - which aims to tackle mould in social housing - and the window producer Velux.

Sunderland City Councillor Michael Butler said: "It gives our youth of today so much to move forward with.

"These will be the children and young people who are building our homes."