South West Hertfordshire MP, David Gauke, has discovered how a centre in Watford will soon be training the future’s renewable energy specialists.
Mr Gauke visited New Career Skills’ training centre in Watford, which will specialise in training for the renewable energy sector. New Career Skills is already providing people from all walks of life with the skills they need for careers in the plumbing and electrical industries.
The company has two other training centres across the UK and opened the unit in Watford, which is the largest of them all, in August 2011.
As the company’s flagship renewables training centre, it will feature specialist equipment, including rainwater harvesting units and solar panel rigs. These will be ready to use by spring 2012 in order to give learners real-life experience of installing green energy systems.
It is hoped that over the next three years the centre, in Croxley Green Business Park, will help to retrain some 3,000 people, including those who have faced redundancy throughout the recession. The centre itself has already created 16 jobs, ranging from teaching staff to sales executives.
Mr Gauke, a strong advocate of creating jobs in the green industry, met with students training at the centre. He said: “I was delighted to see the investment that New Career Skills have put in to the Croxley site and the opportunities that will be available for people in the local area to receive good quality vocational training. Organisations like New Career Skills can play a vital role in ensuring that we have a well-trained, flexible workforce and I am delighted that their biggest operation will be in our area.”
Steven Wines, CEO of New Career Skills, added: “This centre, our largest in the UK, is already proving an important part of the Watford economy and is helping people get back into employment. Many of our graduates go on to form their own businesses and the fact that we are soon to specialise in training for renewable energy installation means Watford and the wider area has the potential to become highly-skilled in this growing market.”
To find out more about New Career Skills visit www.newcareerskills.co.uk.