Hartlepool Sixth Form College is to launch a Digital Academy ready for September 2018.
The new academy will teach young people a range of digital skills to support economic growth in this sector, in line with the Tees Valley key economic priorities.
The Digital Academy will be situated at the Sixth Form’s Brinkburn site, and will deliver Level 3 education and training in digital software, coding, cyber security, virtual reality, games, animation and special effects.
The Sixth Form will also deliver Specialist NextGen digital skills qualifications, along with only seven other colleges in the UK.
Sunderland College, who merged with Hartlepool Sixth Form College last September, already has strong links with the digital industry and a reputation for delivering sector-focused software development, coding, games design, animation and digital special effects programmes.
Hartlepool Sixth Form College head Mark Hughes, pictured above, said: “We are delighted to be launching a new Digital Academy for the young people of Hartlepool and beyond, to support in developing digital talent for the future.
“It is a signal of our focus on providing digital technology focused skills and career routes that meet the needs of businesses and which directly contribute to the region’s economic growth ambitions.
“We have taken the new digital qualifications that have been designed with input from industry leaders such as Sony, Atom Hawk, CCP, Coatsink, Ubisoft and Tombola to ensure our young people in Hartlepool have the skills and knowledge to make a direct contribution to supporting this dynamic growth sector.”
The Tees Valley Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership have identified the digital sector as having a global significance.
Sunderland College are currently working with Aim Awards, ESL, The British Esports Association and UKIE to deliver the UK’s first college Esports qualification.