A scheme has been announced to renovate the George’s Dock Ventilation and the Control Station in Liverpool. SPIE UK has been awarded the £750,000 contract as part of the Merseytravel framework of upgrades that is expected to cover 4 years of updates and renovations. The George’s Dock Ventilation and Control Station aspect of the 4-year plan is expected to take place over 6 months. This scheme of works will cover the delivery of the proposed design as well as the supply and installation of 7 brand new high voltage transformers. The design of the Grade II listed building is under way at the minute, and installation works for the new transformers is about to commence. SPIE will have full responsibility of the site in order to deliver the scheme to replace the 7 HV Vacuum Circuit Breakers and their respective switchgear as well as associated control cables that will link Scottish Power and Merseytravel’s HV switches. SPIE will also be responsible for the safe removal and disposal of the old and now redundant transformers. The George’s Dock Ventilation and Control Station is one of a number of ventilation buildings that are used for the Queensway Tunnel, running beneath the River Mersey between Liverpool ad Birkenhead. The site is behind the Port of Liverpool Building and has Art Deco and early 1930s architectural features. The Grade II listed building contains large fans that have a blade diameter of 3m in order to ventilate the tunnel by way of the building’s central square section shaft. SPIE have worked for Merseytravel before and are currently completing relighting works on the Kingsway Tunnel. The George’s Dock project is a testimony to SPIE’s continued high performance as well as Merseytravel’s trust in the company to complete the scheme successfully.  It will allow SPIE to demonstrate their abilities as part of the development of a landmark and listed building.

The Spring Budget was announced last week by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond. Released on the 8th March, the Spring Budget doesn’t appear to be very beneficial for the self-employed or for Small or Medium Enterprises. Rob May, the Director for the international qualifications board YMCA Awards, has issued a statement noting a few oversights in the Chancellor’s budget. May suggests that half of the UK’s occupations have been left out in the cold when it comes to funding for training. In the budget it has been announced that £500-million has been pledged for “T-Levels”. These qualifications are an equivalent and alternative to A Levels, providing technical as opposed to more traditional qualifications. The result of the funding means that more than half of UK occupations that use a classroom-based vocational education route are not given a part of this funding. The recipients have been decided by a five-member panel review of vocational education. The panel, led by Lord Sainsbury; the Labour peer and Cambridge University Chancellor, have chosen 15 technical educational routes for the investment. However, Rob May suggests that the definition of “technical” routes was never properly explained. May has also pointed out that even though the budget has a number of pledges to improve the nation’s health, yet the fitness sector has missed out on this funding. The reason for this omission was apparently the physical education sector is not technical enough to warrant the funding. This undermining move is made to look more ridiculous when industries such as tailoring and hairdressing have been given the funding. Although those sectors are surely very deserving of the funding in their own way; a pledge to improve the health of the residence of the UK has been supported by not funding those sectors and instead providing money for sectors that focus on appearance. This lack of funding could lead to fewer courses for the fitness and health sectors in favor of courses that will offer funding, which will lead to a deficit of trained professionals and even more problems for later generation.