Canvey’S new £6.3million vocational college is now taking shape.

Builders expect the Canvey Skills Campus, in Meppel Avenue, Canvey, to be ready by next January.

Foundations have been laid and the metal framework is clearly visible above the wooden hoarding surrounding the site.

The college, which is being built on the old Castle View School site, will provide about 200 places for 16 to 19-year-olds in its first year, with the potential to take as many as 300 pupils in the years to follow.

Young people from across the borough will be able to study for GNVQ, Btec and City and Guilds qualifications in trades such as plumbing, car mechanics, bricklaying, hairdressing and beauty treatment.

Neil Bates, the college’s chief executive, said: “Building work is progressing fast and we are pleased to say everything is running according to schedule.

“We are now turning our minds to the interior of the building and how each specific subject area will look.

“The building won’t be finished until January, but students can sign up for courses now and be transferred to the new site when it opens.

“There is a big demand for college places in Castle Point, particularly since there are about 230 young people at the moment not in full-time employment or training, so it is an exciting time for the area.”

Prospects College, which already runs sites in Basildon, Southend and Brentwood, will run the centre after winning the contract in January.

The news came as welcome news after the future of the project was thrown into doubt last year when Thundersley-based Seevic College withdrew, citing fears the new establishment would prove too expensive to run.

Prospects College is building a new £11.5 million facility on the former Hazelwood Food factory site, off Luckyn Lane, Basildon, which is due to open in September.