Spring into Employment with Bishop Auckland College

The McIntyre Centre is the base for the town’s Springboard to Employment scheme, run by Bishop Auckland college and supported by the Stronger Towns Fund.

The Grade-II listed building is symbolic of Bishop Auckland’s heritage and has opened its doors to support future generations, following the major transformation.

The three-storey McIntyre’s building in Newgate Street is open as the McIntyre Centre, following an ambitious renovation led by Bishop Auckland College with funding from the Conservation Area Grant Scheme.

The iconic building has been at the heart of the community for more than 150 years, once being the home to the McIntyre family of shoemakers and leather merchants, who gave the building its name.

With the support of the Stronger Towns Fund and the Conservation Area Grant Scheme it is  helping shape the tradespeople of the future with a new ethos based upon providing practical training to help young people and adults develop skills for fulfilling careers.

It features a restaurant and kitchen, providing training to those seeking careers in the hospitality and tourism sector. There is also retail space for goods produced by small businesses.

Upstairs is a digital and training suite offering courses to help local people develop skills, as well as a job matching service.

The opening of McIntyres has created six exciting new job opportunities, which includes hospitality coordinator, chef trainer, sous chef, front of house assistant, training coordinator and skills trainer.

Developing skills has been at the heart of the whole project, even down to the furniture.  The college’s carpentry and joinery students created the tables for the restaurant, whilst plumbing students made accessories.

Students are involved in cooking and serving food in the kitchen and restaurant while on work placement.

The project opened in December 2024