WORCESTER MP Robin Walker and Energy Minister Richard Harrington have officially opened a new state-of-the-art training academy at Worcester Bosch.

Following a £3.5 million redevelopment programme, the company’s flagship training academy was officially reopened by the MP and Minister on Friday.

The new facility at the central heating boiler manufacturer's Warndon head offices offers an upgraded academy, four times the size of the pre-existing facility, with over 2,000 square meters of practical training areas and classrooms – an area equivalent to 10 tennis courts.

There are more than 200 working boilers and heating appliances across the academy’s nine practical rooms, which are expected to enable Worcester to welcome as many as 10,000 heating engineers to its headquarters each year.

Mr Walker and Mr Harrington met with Worcester Bosch chief executive Carl Arntzen and received a tour of the manufacturing site, before cutting the ribbon on the new academy and meeting apprentices.

As the Prime Minister’s former apprenticeships advisor, Mr Harrington was delighted to hear from local apprentices about their training and skills development at the academy.

Nick Fothergill, Worcester Bosch’s national training manager, said: “The unveiling of our new, flagship training academy is a real landmark having been the result of the largest single investment in training in the company’s history.

"As demand for professional development among installers grows, we want to ensure we continue to offer some of the industry’s best training courses, at facilities engineers really enjoy using.”

Mr Walker said: “The facilities are world class and it is great to have a local business investing in providing such high-quality training.

“Richard and I very much enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Worcester Bosch’s apprentices and hear about their experiences, the skills they had developed at the academy and their plans for the future.”