Willmott Dixon chooses Birmingham for flagship training centre

CONSTRUCTION firm Willmott Dixon is to open a new national training and development facility in Birmingham as part of the company’s commitment to investing in skills within the region.

The Willmott Dixon ‘Centre for Skills’ is being set up by the company’s repair and maintenance arm Willmott Dixon Partnerships, which is responsible for the upkeep of 60,000 properties in Birmingham. The exact location of the centre hasn’t been confirmed but it is due to open in July.

The centre will provide training in a number of key areas for up to 2,000 people per year, including Willmott Dixon’s own staff, with courses ranging from one-day programmes to four-year apprenticeships. 

Students will learn a range of subjects including technical trade skills, emerging technologies, health and safety, supervisor skills and energy efficiency, as well as employability skills such as IT and CV writing.

The centre will provide career enhancing qualifications such as NVQs and accreditation on the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. Willmott Dixon will also work with City & Guilds and the British Plumbing Enterprise Council (BPEC), after it became one of the first construction companies approved as a registered BPEC training centre provider.

Rick Willmott, group chief executive of Willmott Dixon, said:  “The Centre for Skills will deliver the technical skills we require as a business and will support our commitment to developing local skills.

“The qualifications available are those that employers want and the skills learnt are transferable within the job arena, with people outside Willmott Dixon also having the ability to undertake the same qualifications that our staff do.”