The equipment – type A and type B distribution boards of the latest design, complemented by a high load panel board graphic – was supplied in conjunction with the Oldham branch of Newey & Eyre and The GM’s lead sponsor, Equity Solutions Group.
The GM is one of 13 new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) that will open across the country in the next two years. From September 2014, The GM will provide opportunities for 14 year olds to opt out of school and instead participate in vocational and technical courses, as well as studying for GCSEs and A Levels. The GM will specialise in courses relating to sustainable engineering and construction.
‘We believe that this is an excellent and exciting initiative,’ said Tracey Steel, the Eaton sales engineer who coordinated the supply of equipment to The GM. ‘As a company, we have a very strong commitment to ensuring that upcoming engineers and technicians have access to the best possible training and educational facilities, as is demonstrated by our own apprenticeship programmes.
‘We believe that the same commitment underpins the UTCs and, in particular, The GM. We are, therefore, delighted to be able to offer some of our equipment so that students at The GM can experience at first hand the types of products they will encounter in their working lives when they’ve completed their training.’
The Eaton equipment supplied to The GM is currently installed in the purpose built training and recruitment centre on the seventh floor of Oldham’s Integrated Care Centre (ICC). The training and recruitment centre will give interested school students an opportunity to find out whether the options available at The GM are right for them and, if so, to apply for a place when The GM becomes fully operational next Autumn.
Construction will start on The GM’s own premises, which will be located on the Oldham College campus, late in 2013. The £9m project has been designed to provide a living classroom, where students can examine and experience the internal workings of the building as part of their education and training.
