Knowledge Quad to deliver skills and training boost in Blackpool

Knowledge Quad to deliver skills and training boost in Blackpool

Morgan Sindall Construction is bringing its award-winning Knowledge Quad to Blackpool, opening the facility on the site of the new Multiversity campus it is delivering in the heart of the town centre.

The Knowledge Quad is a multi-purpose training and learning facility located within a live Morgan Sindall Construction site. It helps people outside the industry understand what jobs in construction mean today and delivers social value by focusing on skills, education, employment and discovery.

Its arrival in Blackpool comes as construction work continues to advance on the circa 102,400 sq ft (gross internal area) Multiversity campus, which will bring 3,000 students, apprentices and staff into the town centre when it opens in September 2028.

The project forms the fourth phase of Blackpool Council’s £350m regeneration of the Talbot Gateway area around Blackpool North station, and is being delivered for the council and Blackpool and The Fylde College. Placing a skills and careers facility on the site of a building designed to raise skill levels in the town gives the Knowledge Quad an unusually direct fit with the project around it.

The area has already seen significant development in recent years, including a four-star Holiday Inn hotel and restaurant, an improved transport interchange and a new town centre office for 3,000 Department for Work and Pensions staff, with a new government office building for an additional 1,100 staff due to open next year.

To mark the opening, the project team gathered at the Multiversity site, where Morgan Sindall Construction, Blackpool Council, Blackpool and The Fylde College and The Platform, a council-run local youth skills hub, held a commissioning event to discuss each partner’s ideas and hopes for the facility.

Steven Gregory, Area Director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “Construction has changed a great deal in recent years, and part of our job is showing people what the work actually involves now. One thing that hasn’t changed is that it offers great jobs and careers. The Knowledge Quad puts people inside a working site, talking to our teams and our supply chain, with space for classroom, digital, outdoor and on-site learning. It sits within one of our Blackpool projects, but it is open to the whole town and the Fylde coast, and we want people who had never considered construction to leave thinking differently about it. Discovery is one of the Knowledge Quad’s four focus areas, and it is also the theme of the hoardings around the site. Under the banner ‘Discovery for All’, they make the point that the Multiversity and the learning around it are open to the whole town.”

Cllr Mark Smith, Cabinet Member for Economy and Built Environment at Blackpool Council, said: “We are investing heavily in Blackpool’s regeneration, with a £2bn growth and prosperity programme. The Multiversity will provide a world class student campus in the heart of the town centre which will not only create jobs, but will provide local people with lifelong skills to so that they can succeed into careers in Blackpool.

“As well as the long term benefit, we also make sure that local young people can benefit from the construction on their doorstep. Linking in with The Platform, the Knowledge Quad will allow young people in Blackpool to learn construction skills and gain qualifications on a live site, so that they are able to get started on a quality career in construction.”

Alun Francis, Chief Executive of Blackpool and The Fylde College, said: “Multiversity is all about creating opportunities for people to gain the skills, knowledge and qualifications they need to progress into rewarding careers, so the arrival of the Knowledge Quad is a natural and exciting fit for this project. By bringing learning into a significant live construction environment, it will help local residents, particularly young people, to gain first-hand experience of the industry, develop new skills and understand the wide range of careers available within it. We are proud to be working alongside Morgan Sindall Construction, Blackpool Council and The Platform to ensure that the benefits of this major investment are felt long before the Multiversity opens its doors in September 2028.”