Construction is today underway at NMITE’s Centre for Innovation and Future Skills with base plates being installed and the timber frame being erected this week. Due to be opened in Spring 2026, this is a significant milestone in the construction of the building which is located on NMITE’s Blackfriars Campus.
The new centre will include 180square metres of new space and will renovate 90square metres of an unused part of the existing Edwardian building. A hybrid glulam beam made from UK grown timber is to be installed this week as part of a project led by NMITE’s Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT) with Edinburgh Napier University on Building from England’s Woodland. The project aims to demonstrate the viability of English grown timber in modern construction methods. Drones will be used to capture overhead footage of this stage of the build with timelapse from the camera already mounted on site.
Backed by over £2 million in capital funding from the Government’s Towns Fund, the Centre for Innovation and Skills is a core element of the broader Stronger Hereford programme – an initiative to make Hereford a better place to live, learn, work and visit. Built to the highest sustainability standards, the centre will focus on developing skills and training for Herefordshire, helping to prepare local businesses and individuals for the future of work, whether that is upskilling, reskilling or developing entrepreneurial and innovative skills for employees and individuals. The centre will offer hands-on, practical training in technical and soft skills with courses aligned with real-world tools, technologies, and methodologies used in the industry.
James Newby shares NMITE’s vision for the building “We’re thrilled to see the centre coming to life, delivering on NMITE’s mission to deliver economic benefit to Herefordshire and revolutionise upskilling in the local area. Once built, it will become home to NMITE’s Innovation Support Programme, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, and will be the venue for our annual Future of Work Conference.“
The centre has been expertly designed by local firm Arbor Architects and will be brought to life by local timber construction company, Firth Construction, with other members of the team including project management firm Greenwood Projects, mechanical and electrical designers VIDA, structural designers Giraffe Engineering, landscape designers Seed Landscape Design and glulam manufacturer Buckland Timber Glulam Design.
NMITE is no stranger to creating new, award-winning buildings as exemplified by the Skylon campus which has won Construction Excellence regional and national accolades for best value and social value, respectively.