Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business issue 33 | Page 17

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 17
South West Durham general
manager Jason Howe (right)
with some of his new recruits,
including (left to right) Terry
Childs, Vicky Chapman, Ryan
Blewitt, Keith Shepherd, Dave
Wheatley and Peter Johnson.
Training firm expands team as 50th
anniversary gives new momentum
Newton Aycliffe’s oldest training provider is gearing up for growth after expanding its
team with five new recruits.
S
outh West Durham Training (SWDT)
celebrated its 50th anniversary
towards the end of 2017 with a
high-profile event headed up by BBC
Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern.
The Aycliffe-based organisation says
the major landmark has given it new
momentum, with a surge of new enquiries
coming in.
And SWDT has now taken on five key new
members of staff as the firm also prepares
to launch a series of new Higher National
Diploma (HND) courses for employers later
this year.
Vicky Chapman has been taken on as
the training centre’s new supervisor, while
workshop technician Peter Johnson joins
estates technician Dave Wheatley through
the door.
Keith Shepherd and Ryan Blewitt have also
bolstered SWDT’s Btec and higher education
teams to accommodate an increase in
learner numbers.
General manager Jason Howe says all five
new appointments have put the organisation
By Martin Walker
in a much stronger position going forward.
“We’re on the crest of a wave after the
50th anniversary celebrations at the end of
last year,” said Jason.
“We enjoyed a lot of positive local
coverage and PR from the event which
seems to have had a really positive impact,
in terms of enquiries and the general feel-
good factor around the place.
“Now we’re looking to kick on with these
new appointments as we look to strengthen
our offering to employers while we also
prepare for the HND courses.”
SWDT already offers HNC courses in
mechatronics, mechanical engineering and
electrical and has been delivering a range
of commercial courses for some now,
including fork lift truck driving, electrical,
health and safety, PLC programming, lean
manufacturing, quality assurance, CAD, fluid
power, fabrication and welding and plumbing
and gas.
That’s as well as its full-time
apprenticeship provision which covers
mechanical and electrical engineering,
toolmaking, fabrication and welding,
manufacturing, plumbing and gas, polymer
production and manufacturing and
engineering technical support.
The provision of HNDs has been on the
pipeline for a couple of years, and Jason
added: “We’ve adapted and grown our
training provision carefully over the last two
years to ensure we’ve maintained the quality
levels of our existing training courses.
“We’re now geared up for the HND
courses and it will be another very valuable
training offering for our existing and new
clients.”
A subsidiary of Bishop Auckland College
which employs more than 25 staff, SWDT
works with many of the region’s big
employers including Hitachi Rail, Cummins
in Darlington, Richmond-based Pipeline
Engineering, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in
Barnard Castle and car parts maker Nifco in
Stockton, and currently has more than 300
learners on its books.
Find out more about SWDT at
www.swdt.co.uk or call 01325 313194.