That moment has arrived in Sunderland. Cities are renewed when investment in the place is matched by investment in the people – their skills, their health and their future. That principle sits at the heart of what we are now delivering at Riverside Sunderland, and it is particularly evident when you look at the new VELUX Skills Academy.

Marrying ambition with opportunity, the VELUX Skills Academy will be located within the state-of-the-art Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (Hicsa) – a multimillion-pound facility based at Riverside Sunderland and one of only ten Construction Technical Excellence Colleges in the country. The academy will deliver hands-on, industry-led training in roofing, window installation and modern construction technologies, equipping Sunderland’s young people and aspiring tradespeople with the skills required for the 21st-century construction industry. Students will play a role in building a community of 40 high-quality homes as part of the Vaux housing development, with the properties showcasing how modern, sustainable design can be implemented at scale.

VELUX is one of a number of industry-backed partnerships ensuring that young people and adults in Sunderland – including those not in education, employment or training (Neet) – are developing the skills that the most innovative employers need: trailblazer skills that will be required in the future. This is achieved by embedding training directly into the fabric of Riverside Sunderland’s redevelopment. We’re creating career pathways that lead directly from classrooms and workshops into meaningful work – work that contributes locally and responds to national needs in sustainable construction and low-carbon techniques.

This is the kind of employment ecosystem that creates new communities and builds resilience from the ground up, where residents don’t just watch regeneration happen, but create it and contribute to it – they drive it. Riverside Sunderland’s broader vision, shaped in partnership with developers such as igloo regeneration and inspired by global exemplars including the Living Places model from Copenhagen, demonstrates what is possible when sustainability, health and community are placed centre stage in urban design. Homes are being planned and built to optimise daylight, ventilation and low-carbon performance, showcasing how design can contribute to wellbeing as effectively as it provides shelter.

Our goal is simple: a neighbourhood where people want to live, work and grow; a place that not only attracts investment but retains it locally; an urban heart that beats with innovation, creativity and opportunity. By linking skills development with visionary housing and infrastructure, Riverside Sunderland is becoming an exemplar for other cities grappling with regeneration challenges in the 21st century. This is the Sunderland we’re building: rooted in community, powered by people and designed with purpose.