Over the last 12 months, water treatment specialist Salamander Engineering, has developed a strategy to contribute to overall industry efforts to up-skill the future heating and plumbing workforce, by devising and delivering a range of training courses to students at Further Education colleges around the country.
Salamander's College Training Programme complements the current curriculum content by focusing on water treatment and providing guidance on the steps to take to optimise the benefits.
The intensive course is designed to provide students at Level 2 and 3 GNVQ, with a thorough and up to date understanding of the importance of correct chemical treatment and how to achieve the best results. Based on Salamander's experience in the field it covers the causes of corrosion and scale formation in domestic wet heating systems and the measures that can be taken to prevent them. The course also addresses the benefits of water testing and how to interpret the results. All students receive relevant information packs and reference material.
Kate Johnstone, Salamander's UK Field Training Manager and experienced lecturer, is responsible for delivering the courses. She is passionate about what she does: "We identified some time ago, a real need to improve the overall level of knowledge of water treatment within the industry, so took the decision to take our training and information directly to the colleges. In this way, we can ensure that the heating and plumbing engineers of the future are armed with the knowledge and the facts from the outset and see it as part of their foundation knowledge for the skills of the trade.
"The initiative has become even more popular than I'd first imagined," adds Kate, "and since my first college visit in January 2005, students, lecturers and the colleges themselves have responded extremely well and we are now delivering training to at least one college, each week during term time."
Kate visited The Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education earlier this year, lecturing to around 60 apprentices and modern apprentices studying gas fitting and plumbing. Feedback from the students has been so positive that Grimsby Institute is already planning for Salamander to return next year.
Tony Swinburn, the Institute's Team Leader of Gas and Plumbing, says: "As a Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Gas and Plumbing we are always looking into innovative and up to date teaching methods, and I was really impressed by how informative yet interesting Kate's training was - she managed to keep the students' attention by involving them and using some interesting props and images.
"We cover water treatment as standard but the Salamander course went one step further by helping to clarify what we teach by using some real life evidence. What the students have learnt will be a valuable asset to them, and their future employers."
For further information on the range of training courses and options available from Salamander contact Kate Johnstone on 0121 378 0952.
Notes to editors
Issued on behalf of Salamander Engineering Limited by HRO'C PR Limited. For more information, contact: -
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Reader enquiries
Kate Johnstone
Sentinel Performance Solutions Group
The Heath Business & Technical Park
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 4QX
Tel: 01928 583 280
Fax: 01928 562 890
E-mail: enquiries@salamander-engineering.co.uk
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