New Assured Skills Academy in welding at South West College

The Department for the Economy has announced 12 training places on a new part-time Assured Skills Academy in welding at South West College.

Assured Skills Collaborative Welding Academy with SWC open for applications

Funded by the Department for the Economy, the 12-week intensive Assured Skills training programme will be delivered by SWC at its dedicated training facility in Cookstown. Participants will receive industry-standard welding training that will provide them with the skills to take up potential welding roles with companies in the local area.

Highlighting the opportunity, Graeme Wilkinson, Director of Skills at the Department for the Economy, said: “The engineering sector is hugely important to the local economy and people with welding skills are in high demand in our local engineering and manufacturing sector, as demonstrated by the number of local companies supporting this Assured Skills Academy.

"This collaborative approach, delivered part-time, evenings and weekends, at South West College, will provide an opportunity for people who are unable to avail of a full-time course, to upskill or reskill, gaining an industry-recognised welding qualification which will give them a great opportunity to pursue a rewarding career.”

Welcoming the initiative, Ciaran McManus, Director of Development and Support at South West College, said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with DfE and a range of local employers to offer this fantastic opportunity for people to learn the skills needed to start a rewarding career in welding.

“Engineering is a major sector of employment in the south west region. The college is committed to working in partnership with local employers to help them attract, develop and nurture new talent. This new pre-employment Assured Skills Academy is an example of this commitment and is a great opportunity for local people to gain new skills and a potential offer of employment. I encourage anyone who is interested and eligible to apply.”

Academy participants will receive a weekly attendance-based training allowance as well as support with travelling and childcare costs.

Upon successful completion of the Academy training participants will be guaranteed an interview to take up a welding position at one of the supporting companies.

For more information and to apply, visit nidirect. 

The online application form must be completed by 12noon on Wednesday 6 December 2023. 

Applicants must be at least 18 years old by Tuesday 9 January 2024 and eligible to work in the UK.

The Academy will be delivered part-time, commencing Tuesday 9 January until Thursday 28 March 2024.

Notes to editors: 

1. The participating companies are:

• Four Dee NI
• Nugents
• RM Group
• Specdrum
• TEREX (Cookstown)
• Turco Engineering

2. Assured Skills is a pre-employment training programme run by the Department for the Economy. More information is available on the DfE website. 

3. To keep up to date with news from the Department for the Economy you can follow us on the following social media channels:

Twitter – @Economy_NI
Facebook – @DeptEconomyNI
Instagram – economy_ni
LinkedIn – Department for the Economy NI 

4. For media enquiries contact the Department for the Economy Press Office at pressoffice@economy-ni.gov.uk .

5. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.

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