Great news that AccXel has been officially registered as an Apprenticeship Training Provider with the Education and Skills Funding Agency. This is a great achievement for the training centre based in Cinderford and is the culmination of many months of work. I am pleased that I could play a part in this successful outcome by raising AccXel’s application with the Secretary of State for Education.
Starting off the back of the successful local building firm, KW Bell, AccXel is a great Forest success story. Founded by Nicola Bird, AccXel successfully bid for just under £2 million from the UK Government’s Getting Building Fund. This, alongside funding from KW Bell, has created the most forward thinking and innovative construction training school in the country.
It was a pleasure to visit them twice recently. First to welcome the then Construction Minister, Lee Rowley MP, to the training centre. The Minister was very impressed with the facilities on offer at AccXel and was particularly pleased with the speed between which government funding was allocated and the building work was completed. When you are in government, it is always good to see the tangible and physical results of the money you are allocating.
My second recent visit was to greet students who had attended the AccXel open day. The open day was a great chance for those interested in starting a career in construction and groundworks to get a good insight into what this career entails.
The unique AccXel Apprenticeship Programmes have been designed to ensure that the individual receives the best theoretical and practical construction education available anywhere in the country. The programmes cover all of the requisite training qualifications to enable safe site working and also equip the apprentices to be career ready by the end of the teaching.
Using mock-live sites, and a blend of virtual and ‘real’ learning environments, apprentices will learn the latest digital construction techniques; using high-tech digital equipment and machinery provided by their industry partners, JCB and Leica Geosystems. On my previous visit to AccXel, I had a go on one of the virtual digger simulators. Not only was this a fun way to learn, but meant that I could get to grip of the basics in a safe and controlled environment.
It was nice to see so many young people applying for these competitive placements. However, the apprenticeships are not only for school leavers, but for career changers of any age.
If you would like more information on AccXel’s apprenticeship schemes, please visit their website. https://www.accxel.co.uk/apprenticeships/