• Planning permission has been granted for a new Institute of Technology (IoT) in Staffordshire, bringing together academics, employers, and industry to address skills shortages. 
• Keele University is the higher education partner in the IoT consortium, which is led by Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) and other education and industry partners. 
• The IoT will provide advanced manufacturing and engineering qualifications and will see educators and industry working together to jointly design, develop and widen education and training opportunities. 

Major step forward 

A new Institute of Technology (IoT) in Staffordshire bringing together academia, industry, and employers has taken a major step forward with planning permission being formally granted.  

Keele University is the higher education partner in the IoT consortium, which is led by Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG), and also includes Burton and South Derbyshire College, Axia Solutions, Siemens, Moog Aircraft Group, Dell, Hitachi Energy and St Modwen Logistics.  

Plans for the new £18m centre on Palmbourne Industrial Estate in Stafford were first submitted in 2022, and permission has now been officially granted with a proposed completion date of December 2024.  

Meeting the needs of employers 

The IoT will provide advanced manufacturing and engineering qualifications and will see educators and industry working together to jointly design, develop and widen education and training opportunities aligned to the skills needs of employers; the local, regional and national economy; and the priorities for technical education.  

NSCG’s Principal and Chief Executive, Craig Hodgson, said: “We are delighted that the plans have been approved and would like to thank council planners for their support and positive response to our vision.   

“We are already making strides in shaping new higher-level technical curriculum in response to the skills needs of our region, and the new building which is set to open in 2024, will give us even greater opportunity to educate and train people in those vital digital, construction and the built environment and health science skills that are so desperately needed by employers.   

“We are proud to bring this exciting new facility to the heart of Stafford and excited to see the significant impact it will have on the entire Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire region.” 

“Hugely important development”  

Professor Mark Ormerod, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost at Keele University, added: “The new Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology is a hugely important and exciting development for this region, one which will provide great opportunities for education and skills provision in key technology areas of digital and green technologies, construction and the built environment and the health sciences, which are vital to the region’s economic regeneration.   

We are delighted to be the higher education partner for the Institute of Technology, working in partnership with Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group, Burton and South Derbyshire College as further education partners, and major industry partners, and also extend Keele University’s physical footprint into Stafford.”