Partner Article

Driving the region’s skill base forward

GATESHEAD College is investing £400,000 in a new Auto Skills Centre in a bid to dramatically improve the standard of training available to the region’s automotive sector.

Open for business in September, the centre will equip people with the necessary skills to meet industry standards for body shop skills and knowledge and will also feature fully equipped workshops and classrooms.

Based on Team Valley, Gateshead, the facility is closely located to the college’s existing Skills Academy for automotive, engineering, manufacturing and logistics.

All the training expertise and resources customers require will be available under one roof and those who complete the courses on offer will receive automotive industry recognised qualifications.

The centre will be the only one of its kind to offer this type of training and is the latest investment the college has made to improve the level of support and expertise offered to employers and organisations across the UK.

Mick Brophy, director of business, innovation and development at the college. He said: “This is another major investment the college is making to meet the needs of industry and commerce.

“The centre fills a gap in the market for a training facility serving the motor industry in the North East and beyond. It is important that those working in the auto industry repair sector continue to raise the bar when it comes to standards of vehicle damage assessment and repair work.”

The new investment in an Auto Skills Centre means the college can work closely with garages and auto dealers to up-skill their employees and is already working with a number of major operators including Jennings Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .