Ford begins Daventry site transformation

FORD IS to invest millions of pounds in a new, state-of-the-art training facility on its existing site in Daventry, Northamptonshire, as part of a wider forward-looking programme.

The new site will merge the capabilities of two existing Ford colleges – the Technical Training Centre located separately at Daventry, and the Henry Ford College in Loughborough, which provides training for technicians, sales staff and management throughout Ford’s national dealer network.

Scheduled to open next year, the brand-new centre will replace the existing facilities to become a centre of excellence for training across the country. The new building forms an extension to the existing 150,000 square-metre Parts Distribution Centre (PDC) on the Daventry site.

It will deliver courses to adult learners up to Diploma and Masters Degree level, as well as students taking the successful Ford Masters Apprenticeship programmes.

The building will include classrooms, a 200-seat auditorium and a vehicle showroom area, in addition to a lounge and large restaurant. Both the interior and exterior of the building will follow the design and style of the new-look Ford dealer showrooms, including ‘Hello’ and ‘Relax’ areas in the reception.

Jon Wellsman, director, Ford Customer Service Division, said: “With the latest Ford vehicles now demonstrating technology leadership, it is important that our dealer teams receive the highest quality technical and product training. This world-class new facility will enable us to do just that.”

Ford is simultaneously announcing a series of engineering and business apprenticeship programmes, including a newly-established Higher Apprenticeship in IT, in addition to the extremely successful Masters Apprenticeship Programme, which recruits 450 new apprentices into the Ford dealer network every year.

Construction on the new site is expected to be completed in December 2014, and is scheduled to open in early 2015.

Ford College manager, Stuart Harris, said: “This new training centre is a fantastic opportunity to consolidate our industry-leading training programmes, enabling us to provide face-to-face tuition in a real-world working environment.”

By Press Association reporter