I was delighted to join Hillingdon Mayor and Eastcote Councillor, Becky Haggar, as she officially opened the new multi-sports court at UTC Heathrow in Northwood Hills.
The new court, which was built on a previously inaccessible piece of land, provides a generous space that will allow students to take part in a variety of sports, using new equipment and kit. This has been made possible thanks to funding from one of the school’s employer partners, CyrusOne.
I was interested to learn that the addition of the court comes as an extension of CyrusOne’s partnership with UTC Heathrow and the creation of the Digital Futures Programme last year. It was designed to help address the data centre industry’s long-term skills gap and is aimed at giving students essential knowledge and skills, and a vocational start, for a career in the sector.
We know that the digital economy is creating roles that hadn’t even been thought of when this setting was established more than a decade ago. The fact that companies are now coming into this space to help young people take advantage of those opportunities is such a positive for our local economy and an opportunity for us to further improve the life chances of our young people across the country, which is a cause I championed during my time at Hillingdon Council and continue to do so in my role as MP.
