Airedale invests £250 000 in new training school
Air-conditioning manufacturer Airedale is tackling the skills shortage with the opening of a £250 000 training school. The location at its research and manufacturing facility in Leeds creates a centre of engineering excellence. The school was opened by the Lord Mayor of Leeds the Rev. Councillor Alan Taylor.
Coinciding with the opening of this training school, Airedale has been awarded ConstructionSkills acceptance as an approved centre. And one of its 16 apprentices, fourth-year apprentice Daniel Carter, has been awarded the Engineering Advanced Modern Apprentice of the year prize by Leeds City College.
Combining on-the-job training and theoretical learning, the training school enables Airedale to grow its rolling programme of apprentices and update the skills of its 380 UK-based employees through greater breadth and depth of training. It also increases the number and choice of air-conditioning and industry training courses offered by Airedale to external companies.
The Lord Mayor said, ‘The days of apprentices have almost been lost, but here at Airedale young people are being given the opportunity to develop their skills and work alongside people with a wealth of experience. I give my good wishes to the future of these facilities and hope that Airedale continues to bring prosperity to this area.’
