A GOVERNMENT minister has opened a £5.5million state-of-the-art college building in Hyndburn which will offer students some of the most advanced facilities in Europe.

And Ivan Lewis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Young People and Learning, told more than 100 education and business representatives from across East Lancashire: "We have to find ways like this to keep young people in communities which have taken a knock."

The new Hameldon Building at Accrington and Rossendale College will house the construction, motor vehicle and training services departments. It replaces rented premises in Eagle Street and will host 550 students, 250 apprentices and 200 14 to 16-year-olds who will participate in school links programmes.

A spokesman for the college said: "We made a point of getting the most up-to-date machinery -- some of the most advanced in Europe."

Mr Lewis said that the Government had to provide young people in East Lancashire with worthwhile career opportunities. "We want them to be able to make a contribution to their own communities," he added.

Steve Palmer, executive director with the Learning and Skills Council Lancashire, which oversees further education in the region and which part-funded the development, said: "The Hameldon Building marks a significant step forward for the college and local industry in contributing to Lancashire's vocational skills and the drive to boost the competitiveness of our construction industry."

Accrington and Rossendale College's construction department was the first in the UK to be recognised as a Centre of Vocational Excellence. It has also won top grades at consecutive government inspections.

Mr Palmer said: "The new building will encourage the forging of strong relationships between the further education sector and employers, and play a central role in meeting the current and future skills needs of the nation."

College principal Nancy Cookson explained that the college itself had provided £4.4million of the funding, with the rest coming from the Learning and Skills Council. "We can now provide first-class skills in a world-class environment.," she said.

Students from the college's construction department already regularly work voluntarily in the local community , and recently built stables at the Only Foals and Horses animal sanctuary in Oswaldtwistle.

The Hameldon Building includes facilities for painting and decorating, plastering, brickwork, joinery, plumbing and tiling and motor vehicle repair.

The new facility was the venue yesterday for the regional heats of Skill Build, a competition to find the nation's most promising construction students.