Mr Henry Bellingham, MP for North West Norfolk, has described Adcock’s purpose-built City & Guilds training centre in King’s Lynn as 'incredibly impressive' following his visit to the facility on 11 April.

Managing director Phillip Prior, along with the service and training team at King’s Lynn, welcomed Mr Bellingham to Adcock Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and began by explaining that the reason for opening the facility was that NVQ qualifications had changed over recent years to widen the scope of training to include various aspects of plumbing and heating.  While this was advantageous for some, it lacked the in-depth training required for the specialist area of refrigeration.  With the help of specialist Jeff Yarborough of Coolink Technical Training Services, Adcock developed a new bespoke training programme that was subsequently accredited by City & Guilds in 2013. 

As an active supporter of training and apprenticeship programmes, Mr Bellingham spent four hours at the facility including time with some advanced students, who were working on a variety of practical aspects of refrigeration. This was followed by a tour of the study area where research and technical theory work is undertaken.  The trainees discussed their coursework with Mr Bellingham who congratulated each of them for their dedication to their training and enthusiasm for furthering their careers.

Henry Bellingham said: “Adcock’s new City & Guilds Training Centre in King’s Lynn really is incredibly impressive.  It is state of the art and obviously providing a near perfect environment for the company’s trainees.  This is a great company that truly values the skills of its workforce, and I am sure it will go from strength to strength.'

Phillip Prior, managing director said: “We feel honoured to have been visited by Mr Bellingham and for the genuine interest that he took in every part of our facility.  We have made a significant investment into this project, which is a demonstration of our total commitment to providing the very best service to our customers and world class training for our staff.  All of our staff, and in particular our trainees, appreciated both the time and attention given to our important learning facility.”

Phillip Prior and Mr Bellingham both agreed that there is a shortfall in the current national qualification programme and suggested that other MP’s close to their other 11 branch locations should assist in raising the issue in parliament, highlighting the commitment by Adcock in developing their bespoke training facility and training programme.

The Adcock Group, which has 12 branches in total across the UK, were accredited by the international awarding body City & Guilds in 2013, to deliver bespoke in-house unitised refrigeration and air conditioning courses to its trainee engineers.

The newly introduced City & Guilds syllabus is delivered at two levels; Fundamental and Advanced. It is open for all ages and covers all elements of the installation, service and maintenance of refrigeration and air conditioning, providing all trainees with an in-depth knowledge of the industry.

Adcock Refrigeration and Air Conditioning is celebrating 50 years of business this year, and is a business that has been built on service and knowledge.