Government and municipalities plan 1,800-square-metre school expansion

Inga Sæland, Iceland’s minister of education and children’s affairs, and Vilhjálmur Árnason, mayor of Reykjanesbær, have signed a letter of intent to expand the vocational training building at Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja, an upper secondary school. Mbl.is reported that construction is expected to begin after the New Year.

The planned expansion will add 1,800 square metres to the building. The letter was signed at the school’s 50th anniversary celebration yesterday.

Preparations for the project have been under way for several years. The letter of intent provides a basis for starting construction following a preliminary study by Framkvæmdasýsla Ríkiseigna, the government construction authority.

Under the agreement, Reykjanesbær will oversee the project on behalf of the Association of Municipalities in Suðurnes.

The project is part of the government’s employment policy to strengthen vocational and occupational education across Iceland. Other projects include an expansion of vocational facilities at Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti, which is due to be completed this autumn, and a 1,500-square-metre extension at Verkmenntaskólinn á Akureyri.

Preparations are also under way to expand Fjölbrautaskóli Norðurlands vestra in Sauðárkrókur. The ministry is working on a new 3,000-square-metre Technical College in the capital region and an expansion of more than 1,000 square metres for vocational and occupational education at Menntaskólinn á Ísafirði.

The state will pay 60 per cent of the construction cost of the expansion, while municipalities in Suðurnes will cover the remaining 40 per cent.

The expansion is intended to improve facilities for students and teachers, strengthen vocational and occupational education in Suðurnes and nearby municipalities, and better align education with the needs of the local labour market, according to the ministry.