Supporting Skills for the Agratas Project
As the strategic skills lead for the UK’s first gigafactory, UCS College Group provides a single point of access for world-class technical training and workforce development.
Powering the future
At UCS College Group, we don’t just deliver world-class education, we help power the industries that drive regional and national growth.
As a named partner on the Skills Charter supporting the Agratas project, we work with the project’s construction partners to ensure the workforce has access to the right skills, training and development at the right time. We also work closely with lead contractor Sir Robert McAlpine to support the training and skills development needs of the workforce across the site.
More than training
Our role goes beyond delivering training. We act as a dedicated skills partner and single point of contact for employers involved in the project, connecting you with high-quality training provision across the region and nationally. Whether you need immediate workforce training, long-term talent pipelines, or specialist sector support, we help identify the right programmes and providers to meet your needs.
Access our pipeline
Through our strong relationships with industry-relevant training providers, we ensure that if we cannot deliver the training directly, we will connect you with trusted partners who can. Every provider we work with undergoes a robust due diligence process, ensuring the training delivered to your workforce is high quality, relevant and fit for purpose.
Consult
Our Future Skills & Growth Team audits your specific site requirements.
Co-ordinate
We map needs to high-quality providers (internal or via our audited partner network).
Deliver
Rapid, compliant training deployment for your workforce.
Your strategic skills partner
UCS College Group is an anchor institution in the South West, bridging the gap between national infrastructure needs and regional talent.
✔ 3,000+ active apprentices
✔ £86m annual investment in skills
✔ Outstanding Apprenticeship provision.
annual economic value generated for the South West region.
direct and supply chain roles supported by our skills pipeline.
satisfaction rate from our 500+ strategic industry partners.
The UK's most ambitious College Group
The launch of the UCS College Group represents a pivotal moment for Somerset and the wider South West. By uniting the specialist strengths of Bridgwater, Taunton, Cannington, and Strode, we have created a powerhouse of technical and professional education designed to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy.
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Unrivalled Scale & Investment: Benefit from over £50 million invested in industry-standard facilities across our campuses in the last three years alone.
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Award-Winning Provision: Partner with a multi-time recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Education and a national finalist for the 2026 Training Provider of the Year.
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The Power of Partnership: Join a network that includes global leaders like EDF Energy, Agratas, the NHS, and the Ministry of Defence, as well as the vibrant SME community that drives our regional economy.
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Driving Social Mobility: By working with us, you are actively participating in initiatives that increase social mobility and provide sustainable employment pathways for the next generation.
Training streams
These programmes focus on compliance and site readiness, and can include:
- Health & Safety training
- CSCS cards
- Construction skills certification and site tickets
- Sector-specific compliance training
- Upskilling and refresher training.
Apprenticeships focus on building long-term talent through:
- Developing future talent
- Upskilling existing employees.
Here, we offer support to employers with apprenticeship recruitment and delivery, as well as supporting access to funding. The new Level 2 Battery Manufacturing Unit (developed with Skills England) is just the first exciting development.
These programmes enable you to trial talent and influence your future workforce. We offer:
- Structured work experience opportunities linked to the Agratas project.
SWAPs focus on entry routes into the workforce. If you need to fill multiple entry-level roles, these could be the perfect fit:
- Pre-employment training
- Supports recruitment into the project
- Helps local people access job opportunities linked to Agratas.
We can build custom programmes designed around your specific needs:
- Tailored workforce development programmes
- Project-specific training requirements
- Collaboration with specialist training providers
- Flexible delivery options.
Frequently Asked Questions
We understand that large-scale projects involve complex supply chains. Instead of you managing multiple training providers, our Future Skills & Growth Team acts as your dedicated account manager. We diagnose your skills gaps, source the training (either through our own Outstanding provision or our audited partners), and manage the administrative compliance, saving you time and reducing site downtime.
Yes. We offer flexible delivery models tailored to the project’s pace. This includes mobile training units for CSCS and safety certifications, “twilight” or weekend sessions to minimise disruption to construction schedules, and digital learning platforms for theory-based compliance. For specialised technical needs, we utilise our state-of-the-art Energy Skills Centre located just minutes from the site.
Absolutely. Part of our role in the Skills Charter is to help partners navigate the funding landscape. We can advise on Apprenticeship Levy transfers, CITB grants, and government-funded Skills Bootcamps. Our goal is to ensure that cost is not a barrier to developing a high-skill workforce for the Agratas project.
Every provider within our “Agratas-Build” network undergoes a rigorous due diligence process. We evaluate their health and safety records, the industry experience of their trainers, and their historical achievement rates. This ensures that any training your workforce receives -whether from us or a partner – meets the high safety and quality benchmarks required by Agratas and Sir Robert McAlpine.
Agratas-Build Partnership Enquiry Form
Connect with our dedicated Future Skills & Growth Team to discuss your workforce requirements.
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