AN INTERNATIONAL hi-tech firm has signed up as the business sponsor for a possible £9m University Technical College for Swindon.

Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells, which has headquarters at Lydiard Fields, will join Oxford Brooks University to form the academy trust if the bid is chosen by the Government.

The firm, a subsidiary of firm Johnson Matthey PLC, produces catalysed components for fuel cells, a technology for generating low carbon power.

The announcement came on Wednesday, when Swindon Council’s cabinet agreed to allocate up to £500,000 towards the possible conversion of a former railway works building in the Railway Village, which has been identified as the preferred site for the UTC.

Dr Jack Frost, the director of Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells, said: “We are delighted to be the main employer sponsor with Oxford Brookes University and to support this engineering college.

“We are excited about its future and confident that the Swindon UTC will develop and provide high quality engineers.”

“This example of vocational balance in education will prepare students for work in industry and will produce skilled engineers attractive to employers.”

A UTC is a new concept, with the first – the JCB Academy – in Staffordshire.

To qualify for funding, bidders have to attract a big-name businesses sponsor and a university sponsor.

Swindon’s UTC would offer diplomas, GCSEs and A-levels in subjects geared towards engineering.

Swindon College is is a partner in the project, and the bid is also supported by the Ministry of Defence, Honda, Intel, Nationwide, RWEnpower and Thames Water.

The council announced recently that Workshop A, in London Street, was identified in a feasibility study as the preferred site.

Network Rail, the owner, would lease out the workshop, which would be converted at a cost of £7m to £9m, and it would also relocate the small businesses which currently occupy part of the 6,000sq metre site.

The amount the council spends depends on the grant offered by the Government if the bid is successful.

David Renard, the cabinet member for Children Services, said the bid team had good feedback on the draft bid from the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which advises on applications for UTCs, and planned to submit the bid on January17.

“The fact that we have got the signal from the Baker Dearing Trust that we’ve got a high quality bid means we should be moving forward now,” he said.