Last week saw the launch day at the new National Windscreens site in Leicester with customers and connections shown around the training, research, fitting and calibration centre. The new multi-function site is vastly larger than the previous Leicester centre and will drive a new standard of automotive glazing.
With four dedicated multi-discipline training bays, the training and research centre will host new employees for their initial two weeks of foundational training, including wiring, lifting, ADAS and electrical awareness training. After the initial fortnight of training at Leicester, technicians then relocate to local centres to complete their course of learning.
Connections were given the chance to replace windscreens and shown how to repair a damaged piece of glass.
Lee Powell, manager of the training and technical department, said: “The research and training centre sits alongside a new, large capacity fitting and calibration centre, together with administration and meeting facilities. This brings together all aspects of the company in one regional centre.
“The facility will sit at the core of the training programme designed to develop new starters and give them the knowledge and practical experience of automotive glazing to enable them to thrive as technicians,” said Lee.
Trainees will work towards NVQ qualifications during the 10-week training process, working at Leicester and other regional training centres in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Slough, Exeter, Dartford and Bristol.
Sam Clements, technical advisor, said: “The Leicester centre will act as a training hub for the Midlands, bringing together the team to share ideas and best practices from across the country. National Windscreens operates a continual improvement programme to ensure a consistent understanding of the latest developments in ADAS technology, and the research and training centre provides the perfect setup for us to do this.”
“It will enable us to provide a new level of training which will result in an improved customer service. We continuously develop our team by providing engaging training embedding the technical skills required for their role,” continued Sam.
“The Leicester centre will help to bring together aspects of the company with a reduction in our carbon footprint, helping to drive the ambitious sustainability goals that will be independently verified, assessing the environmental impact from the supply chain through to fitting.” concludes Sam.