A NEW centre of excellence for student engineers will open its doors in Hampshire today, allowing 900 young people to “pursue their dream careers”.

A Government minister will visit Fareham College to mark the unveiling of the £12 million campus, which received £9million of public funding.

Students studying at Fareham and Gosport College sites are transferring to the Centre of Excellence in Engineering and Manufacturing Advanced Skills Training (CEMAST) centre.

They will be offered apprenticeship programmes in automotive, manufacturing, and engineering with blue chip companies such as BAE Systems, GE Aviation, and Virgin Atlantic.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Penny Mordaunt, the local growth minister and a Portsmouth MP, said: “The new college will allow students to pursue their dream careers and become future business leaders.

“This specially designed vocational course, created in partnership with the industry, will not only help local young people reach their potential but compete in a competitive job market, as well as bringing widespread benefits to the local area.”

Peter Marsh, deputy principal of Fareham College, said local employers had helped design both the curriculum and the facilities at the centre.

He added: “They truly meet their needs in the key growth sectors of aeronautical, marine, electronics, composites, automotive and manufacturing engineering.

“Enrolments at this new specialist facility have already exceeded our initial targets and we are on course to be operating at full capacity within two years.”

Work on the site began a year ago and included engineering apprentices from the college itself.

Coopervision, Burgess Marine, and Jensen Motorsport will help run courses, along with BAE Systems, GE Aviation and Virgin Atlantic The CEMAST project is the first phase of a wider £26 million programme to transform Fareham College into a centre of excellence for technical, vocational and applied studies.