Pall-Ex has opened a new accredited training centre for FLT operators to provide training for jobseekers and school-leavers.
Pall-Ex is providing 1000 sq ft of space at its Ellistown hub in Leicestershire and is supplying two forklift trucks with the expertise of an accredited instructor. In return the company will be able to take on some of the qualified drivers and is also using the training facility to boost the skills of its existing workforce.
The training centre is a joint scheme run by Loughborough based Manufacturing Training Services (MTS) and is accredited by the Road Transport Industry Training Board (RTITB).
Jobseekers will be given the skills retraining they need to help them back into work and will be offered a three-week work placement with ongoing assessments, leading to a reference and in many cases a job.
The facility will also be used for the Entry to Employment scheme to help school-leavers with few or no qualifications to learn a skill and find employment. The scheme will run over 25 weeks as a vocational course of 16 hours per week, part of which will be spent at Pall-Ex.
Initially the government funded courses are set to run twice a month with three trainees at a time, but this will be expanded as further funding becomes available.
Hilary Devey, managing director of Pall-Ex, said: “The new training centre is an excellent initiative which will help so many people and we are happy to be able to provide the facilities and to participate in the scheme. It is mutually beneficial and I am delighted that we have been able to refresh the skills of our own workforce.”
Gary Gwynne of MTS, who will be running the training centre, said: “This initiative will be a big plus for the local community. It will help people to come off benefits, gain invaluable training enhancing their job prospects and standards of living. It will also help many youngsters without qualifications to gain a skill that will take them directly into the jobs market.”
