Siemens celebrated the official opening by Lord Willis of Knaresborough of its Energy Service Training Centre in Newcastle, United Kingdom on November 22, 2011. This £8 million investment by Siemens provides a unique in-house training environment and experience for service technicians working on conventional and renewable power plants and helps put the North East firmly on the map as a centre of excellence for skills and training.
Siemens has a long tradition of training regionally and nationally and has made very significant investments in its facilities to develop its in-house learning and development capability. It first established a training facility at the Newcastle site in 2008 to train service technicians working on conventional power plants – a business which serves the international power generation market. In 2009, a wind power technician training facility was added to the site, which reflects the growing importance of the renewables business for Siemens in the UK.
Keith Hunter, general manager, Training Services, Siemens Energy Service, explained the rationale for the training centre: “We are a service business and our customers depend on us to keep their plants up and running, safely and efficiently. It is imperative therefore that we have people with the right skills. Investing in our in-house capability was the best way to ensure that quality and reliability for our customers.”
Speaking about the centre, Graham Hartley, director, Siemens Energy Service Fossil said: “This could not be a more exciting time for the UK Service business, with the high growth projected in Renewables, as well as the growth of the global gas turbine market and combine cycle power plants. Having a world-class training facility to support this business is critical to future development. Given the North East’s history and engineering heritage, we’re incredibly proud to house the UK’s only training centre combining training facilities for technicians working on wind farms and power plants.”
