A NEW £2million block at Otley College where youngsters will be taught a range of building trades from plastering to roof tiling has officially been handed over.

A NEW £2million block at Otley College where youngsters will be taught a range of building trades from plastering to roof tiling has officially been handed over.

The large building is the latest in a series of projects at the further education college, which recently opened a new Olympics standard equestrian centre, complete with stables and outdoor and indoor riding schools.

College principal Philip Winfield officially took over the new technology block, where the construction trades will be taught, yesterday .

Otley is the only further education college in the area - the next nearest would be Kent - where plastering and roofing is taught.

The college works on the curriculum with local firms on construction courses, which are a growth area for it.

“We have invested a lot of money, and massively improved success rates, so we feel very buoyant about what we have been doing,” said Mr Winfield.

Over just a few years, numbers studying construction at the college have rocketed from just a handful to just under 200. Meanwhile, East Anglia is enjoying a construction boom which shows no sign of ending.

“There's going to be a shortage of people in the construction industry,” said Mr Winfield.

The technology block will now be fitted out with a range of teaching aids, including a full-sized house where students can get hands-on experience of construction skills.

The building is large because skills such as plastering as very space intensive, Mr Winfield said.