Training centre launched to create next generation of skilled professionals

Building services engineering sector apprenticeship provider, JTL, has opened a new training centre in South Yorkshire.

The centre in Wath upon Dearne, will serve as a hub for electrical apprenticeships and training in green technologies.

It is the result of a £2m investment and will address local skills shortages, as well as support the UK’s green skills agenda.

The training centre has cutting-edge electrical engineering and plumbing workshops, classrooms, an End Point Assessment (AM2) preparation workstation and breakout areas.

It will be a flagship facility for JTL, contributing to the local economy and equipping future generations with the skills needed to meet the UK’s demand for sustainable homebuilding and energy infrastructure, through a specialist ‘Green Hub’ of training for renewable technologies.

Technical skills to be taught at the centre will cover renewable energy systems and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Across the region, where JTL has training centres in South Yorkshire, Hull and York, the industry charity is currently training about 1,800 apprentices in partnership with 1,200 employers.

The official opening event in Wath upon Dearne was attended by John Healey, MP for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough.

He said: “I am pleased that JTL has chosen Wath as the home of its new South Yorkshire training centre for apprentices to learn their trade.

“The centre has already created 17 jobs locally through new tutors, administrators and supervisors and the plans are in place to train almost 100 new electrical apprentices from across the borough with an expansion into plumbing courses in the near future.

“Apprenticeships provide our young people with a valuable pathway into critical sectors, allowing them to earn while they learn and develop the essential skills they need for their careers.

“Our community is full of skilled talent and we are eager for the next generation to be able to pick up a trade and get on in life.”

Sir John Low, chair of the JTL Board, added: “The opening of our South Yorkshire Training Centre marks an exciting milestone for JTL as we continue to expand our network of facilities to meet local, regional, and national skills needs.

“This new centre will help to equip young people in the South Yorkshire area with the practical, hands-on experience necessary to succeed in the building services industry, particularly as we move towards a greener economy.

“We are thrilled to contribute to both the local community and the wider national agenda for skills development and net-zero commitments.”