A new �700,000 base for engineering skills in east Norfolk will move a step closer this week when a sod-cutting ceremony takes place to mark the start of building work.

The new Nexus Centre, which will provide training and apprenticeship opportunities for young people over the age of 14, will begin to take shape on Friday and is set to open in September.

It will support students to develop a career in energy and advanced manufacturing and is being led by the East Consortium, with support from Norfolk County Council and Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

The consortium, which is made up of 11 schools and colleges in the east of the county, aims to provide high quality education and training opportunities for students aged 14 to 19 living in the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston area.

The project is supported by government funding for vocational education.

The new centre will be on Beacon Park, part of the New Anglia Enterprise Zone.

It will be the first building on the Park’s Blackfriars Court, a development of light industrial and warehouse buildings being built by Lowestoft-based Wellington Construction in partnership with Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

The event will be led by Brandon Lewis MP for Great Yarmouth.

George Denby, headteacher of Caister High School, said: “This is a unique opportunity for students in east Norfolk and beyond to develop specialised skills to support them into the world of the work and as a consortium we have been working very closely with the county council to make this a reality.

“In the Great Yarmouth area we are fortunate to have more than 400 companies involved in the energy and advanced manufacturing industry and we want to work as closely as possible with those companies to ensure our students can make the most of the opportunities they present. Young people are facing an increasingly tough jobs market and we want to give them access to the skills and knowledge that will help them to stand out from the crowd.”