Pictured above: Warwickshire College Rugby
The Power Industry Academy - part of the new £33m
Warwickshire College Rugby centre - is closely linked to industry
leaders Alstom, Converteam, Doosan Babcock and Quartzelec and is at
the heart of training technicians for the next generation of power
stations.
The groundbreaking facility, which recently became home to one
of the college's faculties of engineering, was funded with
£6.2m from Advantage West Midlands.
Designed in partnership with industry experts, the academy
provides training and resources for the energy manufacturing supply
chain and will include a focus on turbines and carbon friendly
power generation.
Peter Husband, Vice Principal for Engineering, said:
"Warwickshire College would like to thank all our partners and
funders for supporting the Power Industry Academy. The college now
has a fantastic, unique facility, designed with industry experts,
which will equip the power generation manufacturing industry for
the future."
Phil Roberts, Partnerships Director at Advantage West Midlands,
said: "Not only will the Power Industry Academy be a fantastic
addition to the regeneration of Rugby, it will also have a huge
impact on the future of environmental technologies.
"The new generation of power stations and future green power
sources will require particular skills and Warwickshire College is
putting Rugby right at the very front of these opportunities.
"The investment by Advantage West Midlands will be felt not just
in Rugby and Warwickshire but much further afield and we are
delighted to see the facility in use."
Colin Grimes, Regional Account Manager for the Midlands Region
for the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB),
the body which works with employers on training in the power
industry, said: "We are delighted that the college construction is
complete and look forward to working together to develop the
training needs of all stakeholders within our industry."
Working with its business partners, the college is providing key
equipment which would only normally be available for training and
skills development when a power generation facility is taken
'off-line'. By providing this equipment in a real life
environment, employees can be trained to meet the skills levels
they require without expensive downtime.
Warwickshire College is accredited by the Engineering
Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) to deliver courses,
apprenticeships and assessments.
The academy's equipment includes:
* full-sized industrial generator
* gantry crane with 10 metric tonne capacity, remote controlled
with the latest technology
* generator drive equipment
* latest welding equipment
* full range of milling machines
* full range of lathes
* non destruct testing (NDT) equipment
Programmes can be tailored to suit the needs of individuals and
businesses, while apprentices make organisations more effective,
productive and competitive by addressing skills gaps directly, even
in uncertain economic times. The Power Industry Academy
currently trains apprentices from a number of local
companies.
The Academy is purpose-built to fulfil the training needs of the
power industry.
For engineering training and business opportunities, call Tony
Parkin on 07793 119277 or e-mail powerindustry@warkscol.ac.uk