LOCAL MP Jesse Norman has expressed his delight at the completion of the new Stronger Towns Fund Skills Hub building at the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering.

The new building is located on the corner of Blackfriars Street and Widemarsh Street in Hereford, and was supported with a £2.5 million grant from Stronger Hereford, the local Stronger Towns Fund board.

Commenting, Mr Norma, who is both the co-founder and chair of the university, said: "This is a landmark not just for our pioneering new technology and engineering university, NMITE, but for the city and the county as a whole.

"It means we now have a fantastic new resource in the city focused on skills and capability development, not just for NMITE students but for people of all ages across the whole county, from Leintwardine to Ross-on-Wye."

New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering campus has been designed for upskilling, reskilling, and supporting local entrepreneurs, businesses, and school leavers with a focus on future technologies like AI and immersive reality.

It has been designed by local firm Arbor Architects and constructed by Firth Construction, blending a renovated Edwardian former school building with a modern, sustainable timber-framed extension.

The university offers a unique, hands-on approach to learning designed to accelerate students’ journey from education to employment.

Instead of traditional lectures and traditional exams, the technical university focuses on active, team-based problem solving in partnership with industry. Its accelerated degrees, deliberately small cohort sizes, and emphasis on interdisciplinary skills mean that student’s graduate career ready.

Students will study degree programmes, short courses, or take part in community engagement as part of NMITE’s mission is to transform education, diversify the engineering profession, and deliver graduates who are ready to make a difference from day one.

The new facility will be formally opened during the early autumn.