Work is under way on a new project that will help put Blyth at the heart of the UK's green energy revolution.
Officials from Northumberland County Council, the Port of Blyth and the North of Tyne Combined Authority broke ground on the £13.6 million Energy Central Learning Hub on Wednesday.
The state-of-the-art facility will be part of the Energy Central Campus and is being delivered as part of the £90 million Energising Blyth programme aimed at revitalising the town and bringing new prosperity to south east Northumberland.
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Expected to open in time for the start of the 2024 academic year, the hub will deliver science, technology and maths education and "sector-related" vocational and work-based learning via specialist training facilities. It is hoped this will connect the community to the growing opportunities available within the clean growth sector in Blyth.
Coun Glen Sanderson, leader of Northumberland County Council, Mayor of North of Tyne Combined Authority Jamie Driscoll, and CEO at Port of Blyth and chair of the Energy Central Campus Martin Lawlor were the first people to put spades in the ground at the ceremony.
Speaking at the event, Coun Sanderson said it was an "absolute pleasure and a privilege" to get the project under way and praised all those who had been involved in bringing it to fruition.
He said: "This is an important new milestone. Blyth will become a thriving, international centre of renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.
"I'm very proud of all the work we have done together. The world will benefit, the county will benefit, and the town and its people will benefit.
"This is a fantastic achievement. This will help people achieve a really strong income by their 20s, and provide new opportunities for jobs here for people who may have thought that the future was looking bleak."
Coun Sanderson also singled Mr Lawlor and Mr Driscoll out for specific praise.
Mr Driscoll added: "Awareness of the climate emergency has increased. Regionally we're just getting on with it.
"This will make sure there is a pathway to jobs. It's about a future for people to earn good money - these are well paid jobs.
"This is not just a building. It is a home to the generations who will replace our high carbon past with our low carbon future.
"The climate emergency is hurtling towards us. We're investing in green energy and we're making sure our young people have the skills to make Blyth and the North East a beacon for investment."
Mr Lawlor said the project had been ongoing for three years and would bring huge benefits to the town.
He said: "If we get this right, and I'm confident we will, we can ensure many of these jobs remain right here in the region. We have big ambitions but we're focused on making this a reality.
"We were the centre of coal and we're now moving onto renewable energy. We have a mission to generate the next generation of clean energy sector workers bringing together expertise of employers and education providers."
Students from local school Bede Academy will be the first cohort to study T-levels within the hub from next September. The school's assistant head of design technology and Blyth resident Victoria Smith said it was vital to show young people the opportunities they had for good, well paying jobs.
She said: "It's going to be amazing. We're just trying to raise aspirations. We want them to see there's more they can do and there's more outside of Blyth.
"With these skills they could work all over the world."
T-Levels are equivalent to three A-levels and are completed over the course of two years. They are technical based qualifications designed to meet the needs of industry and prepare students for work.
