Dudley College of Technology

In 2026, a brand-new centre offering higher level training for the health and care sector will open in Dudley: Health Innovation Dudley (HID). By supporting local people to train and upskill, it will help to address the considerable staffing challenges currently faced by the NHS and wider care employers locally. Once fully operational, it is hoped that the centre will support more than 600 new students each year.

The centre will be the result of true partnership work across the region, with Dudley College of Technology (DCoT) leading the project, working with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council (DMBC), University of Worcester (UoW) and Dudley Group NHS Trust.

DMBC received funding for the centre through a Towns Fund application, which the college led on, and are overseeing the construction. Once constructed, DMBC will lease the building to the college at zero cost.

An advisory board made up of NHS representatives from all disciplines as well as social care are helping to oversee the design and development of the building and curriculum.

The college and NHS Trust will collaborate to deliver the training programmes for both college students and existing NHS staff at the centre, with the college running the facility and the NHS trust committing to boosting placement opportunities in health and care settings in the area.

UoW will deliver the higher education programmes for HID, covering nursing, paramedics, healthcare assistants, wider therapies, primary care and social care qualifications. Many of these programmes will be apprenticeships and other non-traditional higher routes to make it accessible to local people.