New Stallingborough engineering training centre to welcome first intake

HETA chief executive Iain Elliot said the centre was a major investment in the future of engineering training

A new £5.5m engineering training centre in North East Lincolnshire opens to its first students later.

The building at Pioneer Business Park, Stallingborough, is one of three sites operated by Humberside Engineering and Training Association (HETA).

Around 60 engineering trainees make up the first intake and are among 250 attending courses run by HETA.

It said capacity at the new site would increase as more businesses move into the area,

The site is in the middle of North East Lincolnshire Council's £42m South Humber Industrial Investment Programme area, which is being promoted as a major industrial development opportunity.

HETA was established in 1967 and, in addition to the new site, also offers training facilities at Foxhills in Scunthorpe and the company's headquarters in Hull.

It aims to build strong links with local companies willing to take on trainees and it said 200 of this year's intake had already secured employment in the industry.

HETA has built strong links with major companies to ensure trainees find work

The new centre is purpose-built and provides facilities for electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and fabrication and welding, with an IT suite, classrooms, and meeting rooms.

HETA chief executive Iain Elliot said the centre was the culmination of nine years of "thought, discussion and planning".

"We have a set of training centres that provide the best learning and working environment for young people, people coming in to do adult courses and for our own staff," he said.

"It's a £5.5m investment in the future of engineering training in North East Lincolnshire and beyond."

He said it would support people leaving school wanting to develop an engineering career and for employers who need skilled labour.

"We know young people are now seeing apprenticeships and engineering and other technical trades as a viable alternative to university," he said.