I SHARE Amelia Washbourne's concern for the wellbeing of council-referred young people.

But her remarks in relation to NMITE are wildly off the mark.

RELEVANT LETTER:

NMITE is not the property of any individual. It is a public institution which has been set up to give the best possible technology and engineering skills to young people.

It is supported by Herefordshire Council and by numerous local people, companies and other organisations.

NMITE has received approximately £27 million in investment so far from central government.

This is dedicated money that Herefordshire would not have received without NMITE, and which was not available for other purposes.

There has also been considerable support from individuals and charitable trusts, and most of NMITE’s staff are also financial donors.

Since higher education is closely tied to economic growth, this investment means not just massive new opportunities for young Herefordians, but a huge long-term boost to jobs and wages and economic growth across the county.

We should be doing everything we can to support this work.

To compare: the University of Lincoln, established in 1997 in a cathedral city not much bigger than Hereford, is now independently assessed as contributing hundreds of millions of pounds to the local and national economy.

NMITE offers one course at present, a three years to Masters (MEng) degree in Integrated Engineering, validated by the Open University, which has around 40 students enrolled from around 150 who applied.

This is a larger first cohort size than most new programmes achieve in established universities.

Nearly half of these students come from Herefordshire. They would have previously had to leave the county to get a similar opportunity.

More students will join in September, and in due course NMITE plans to offer a wider range of courses including a two year Bachelor's (BEng) degrees, degree apprenticeships and short courses.

Nor is there anything mysterious about NMITE.

It has close links to the Sixth Form College, to Herefordshire College of Arts and to other colleges and schools across the county.

It has a substantial presence on social media, a blog, a podcast, a monthly newsletter and a website at www.nmite.ac.uk, which lists its numerous links with local companies and individuals.

It also has regular open days at its main campus in Blackfriars.

All of these information sources are public and easily available to Amelia Washbourne.

If she would like to contact NMITE via information@nmite.ac.uk, I am sure they would be very happy to answer her detailed questions, and to give her a tour so she can see the buildings and meet some students.

She will find that NMITE's staff are just as passionate about supporting young people as she is.

Jesse Norman

MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire

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