IN PHOTO:South West Durham Training chief executive Lee Childs working with some of the new HNC engineering students.
A Newton Aycliffe training firm is providing local young people and employers with a route to higher education thanks to new Higher National Certificate (HNC) courses in four key areas of engineering. South West Durham Training (SWDT) at Aycliffe which celebrates its 50th year in 2017, is now delivering HNC programmes to a number of major firms in the area including Cummins, 3M and Nifco. SWDT has taken on experienced engineering lecturer Brian Corker, who has worked in the engineering education sector for more than 25 years, to deliver the courses covering the mechanical, manufacturing, mechatronics and electrical elements of engineering. It’s part of a long-term plan for the Aycliffe organisation to eventually provide local employers with the full route to degree qualifications through HND and higher apprenticeship programmes. SWDT, employs 27 staff, and recently spent £150,000 on its learning resource centre and new IT infrastructure. Chief Executive Lee Childs said: “Part of the rationale behind our recent investments was to accommodate HNC programmes while improving our current BTEC level 3 provision. “The HNC is also a natural progression from the BTEC course so we designed an HNC provision which can meet the needs of our local employers, by covering four key areas. “We’re introducing a lot of new curriculum subjects over the next few years. From September 2017 we’ll be offering full-time electrical installation courses, offering full apprenticeship programmes. “We’ve taken a pragmatic approach so we can maintain the levels and standards of our existing programmes. We’re taking it one step at a time to make sure we maintain quality.” Well-known local firms have already enlisted employees on to SWDT’s HNC courses, including Darlington’s Cummins and Mech Tool Engineering, Thorn Lighting, Stockton-based Nifco and major Aycliffe employers 3M, Ebac and Mould Systems. Corker, a former Thorn Lighting apprentice, completed a university degree in manufacturing systems and engineering before working as an industrial engineer for the Spennymoor firm.
He also worked as a design engineer for British Steel in Darlington before spending more than 25 years lecturing in various areas of engineering at Darlington College. The 56-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, said: “It’s a new challenge for me but I’m already enjoying it. I worked with Lee Childs for a lot of years in my previous role. I saw the work he was doing here and the vision he has for the centre, and it was something I wanted to be part of ” Childs, an engineer from Shildon who served his time with SWDT 16 years ago, added: “The critical part is getting the right staff in place so were very lucky to get Brian on board. “He’s an exceptional teacher and goes the extra mile for students. He also knows what all our local companies do and what they need out of the programmes. “We’re already getting lots of positive feedback on the way the centre is running and the impact the changes are now having.” • Find out more about SWDT at www.swdt.co.uk or call 01325 313194.
