Hartlepool College of Further Education hails opening of centre for excellence in fabrication and welding as demand soars

The new look to the college’s state-of-the-art training facilities for fabrication and welding officially opened its doors on Friday, April 19, with special guests from the North-East business community in attendance.

The Exeter Street annexe of Hartlepool College has been significantly improved and means students will no longer have to switch to the main college site for elements of their training.

Darren Hankey, Hartlepool College’s principal, said: “We have been training welders, fabricators and platers for decades here at Hartlepool College and this is an exciting development for the whole industry.

“There are people in those areas who have been trained by Hartlepool College working across the world and this investment allows us to keep doing this – developing talent and transforming lives.

“This is a standalone Centre of Excellence that will benefit our employer partners.”

The college annexe offers 1,500 square metres of state-of-the-art fabrication and welding training facilities, including four workshops, 39 welding booths, a clean lab for weld testing and five classrooms.

The everything-under-one-roof approach for fabrication and welding students has been welcomed by industry leaders and college partners.

SeAH Wind, Wilton Group, Strabag, Francis Brown, TATA Steel, Paralloy & FVC, Caterpillar, Darchem Engineering and Unipres were among those at the official opening.

John Price, Wilton’s Group HR manager, said: “We have worked closely with the college for many years and currently have 35 apprentices being trained by them.

“We are delighted with the level of training our apprentices receive from Hartlepool College and what they do compliments what our staff will learn within our own training school at Wilton Group.”

The improvements to the Exeter Street site will also see an additional 70 students enrol, with 56 expected to gain qualifications over the next year.

Helen Gott, the college’s head of fabrication and welding, said: “We have seen a huge demand for this type of training over the last few years so it’s nice to see the ribbons being cut after plenty of hard work.

“We can now crack on with providing the exceptional training that is needed for organisations across the region.”